Main events of the week

• In the Idlib region, there was an increase in the intensity of the incidents this week. They consisted mainly of exchanges of artillery fire between the Syrian army and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). There has also been an increase in the number of local penetration attempts by the Syrian army and the forces supporting it in areas controlled by HTS and other rebel organizations.
• ISIS’s provinces in Africa and Asia continued their routine activity. Noteworthy ISIS attacks in the following places:
  • Syria – ISIS’s intensive activity continued in the Euphrates Valley and in the desert region to its east (activating IEDs, shooting at vehicles, targeted killings, attacking military facilities and positions).
  • Iraq – most of the activity centered on the provinces of Diyala and Kirkuk (sniper fire, activating IEDs, attacking facilities and security forces).
  • In the northern Sinai Peninsula, relative calm prevailed in the conflict zone in the Bir al-Abd-Rabi’a region. ISIS is using its media to leverage its achievements in northern Sinai. ISIS continued to carry out guerrilla warfare against the Egyptian army in the regions of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah.

Summary of ISIS activity this week

• On September 17, 2020, ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly published an infographic entitled “The Harvest of the Fighters,” summarizing ISIS’s activity on September 10-16, 2020. According the infographic, during this period ISIS carried out 42 attacks around the world, compared to 33 in the previous week (i.e., an increase of about 27% in the scope of the attacks). A total of 16 attacks were carried out in Iraq, four of them in the Kirkuk Province. Attacks were also carried out in ISIS’s other provinces in Africa and Asia: Syria (10); West Africa (7); Sinai Peninsula (5); Pakistan (2); Khorasan (i.e., Afghanistan) (2) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, September 17, 2020).
• A total of 138 people were killed and wounded in these attacks, compared to 103 last week (i.e., an increase of about 17% in the number of casualties). The largest number of casualties (58) was in Iraq. The other casualties were in the following provinces: West Africa (26); West Africa (17); Sinai Peninsula (16); Syria (11); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (6); and Pakistan (4) (Telegram, September 10, 2020).

The Syrian arena

The Idlib region

In the Idlib region, there has been an increase in the intensity of the incidents this week. They consisted mainly of artillery exchanges between the Syrian army and HTS and other rebel organizations affiliated with it, mainly south and southwest of Idlib. Russian aircraft carried out airstrikes in Idlib and to its northwest. This week, there was also an evident increase in the number of local penetration attempts by Syrian army forces in areas controlled by HTS in the Idlib region. These attempts did not evolve into significant incidents.

Russian airstrikes

• On September 20, 2020, over eight Russian fighter jets carried out more than 20 airstrikes in several areas west and northwest of Idlib, including the area of Idlib’s main prison (about 5 km west of Idlib) (Ibaa, Khotwa, September 20, 2020).

Syrian force enters a minefield

• On September 21, 2020, a force supporting the Syrian army entered an HTS minefield about 30 km south of Idlib. Six fighters of forces supporting the Syrian army and at least one Russian soldier were killed, and other soldiers were wounded. HTS operatives found helmets, night vision goggles and additional equipment at the site (Ibaa, September 22, 2020).

ISIS activity in the Syria Province^[1]

The area of Deir ez-Zor and Al-Mayadeen

• On September 22, 2020, an SDF intelligence operative was targeted by gunfire about 5 km northeast of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed.
• On September 22, 2020, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle near the Al-Omar oilfield, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The passengers were killed or wounded.
• On September 21, 2020, an SDF fighter was targeted by machine gun fire about 15 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed.
• On September 20, 2020, an SDF vehicle was targeted by machine gun fire about 50 km south of Al-Mayadeen. One SDF fighter was killed.
• On September 19, 2020, an SDF intelligence operative was targeted by gunfire about 15 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed.
• On September 19, 2020, an SDF vehicle was targeted by machine gun fire about 20 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The passengers were killed or wounded.
• On September 19, 2020, an IED was activated against a Homeland Defense Forces commander in the Al-Mayadeen Desert. He was killed. According to another version, the commander was killed when a mine exploded in the desert region west of Deir ez-Zor (Deir ez-Zor 24 Twitter account, September 20, 2020).

• On September 18, 2020, an IED was activated against a Syrian army truck in the Al-Mayadeen Desert. The passengers were killed or wounded.
• On September 18, 2020, ISIS operatives captured a fighter about 15 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. He was shot to death.
• On September 17, 2020, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle on the road leading to the Al-Omar oilfield (about 50 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor). The vehicle was damaged.
• On September 16, 2020, an SDF checkpoint was targeted by machine gun fire about 80 km north of Deir ez-Zor. Four fighters were killed.
• On September 15, 2020, ISIS operatives activated an IED at an SDF headquarters in the village of Al-Soussa, about 10 km northeast of Albukamal. The headquarters was damaged.
• On September 15, 2020, an SDF intelligence operative was targeted by machine gun fire at his home in the Al-Basira area, about 15 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed.

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• On September 21, 2020, ISIS operatives attacked positions of the Syrian army and the forces supporting it about 60 km east of Al-Sukhnah (Deir ez-Zor 24 Twitter account, September 21, 2020). So far, no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack but it was probably ISIS.
• On September 20, 2020, a mine was detonated against a vehicle of the Palestinian Al-Quds Brigade^[2] in the area of Jabel Bishri, about 80 km west of Deir ez-Zor. Five fighters were killed. The Al-Quds Brigade reportedly operates alongside the Syrian army in search missions around Jabel Bishri and in desert areas (Enab Baladi, a Syrian news website affiliated with the rebel organizations, September 20, 2020).

    
Right: Jabel Bishri (Google Maps). Left: Jabel Bishri
(Geography of Bilad al-Sham – Syria Facebook page, April 11, 2019)

Syrian-Turkish border area

• On September 17, 2020, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle southwest of central Manbij, about 80 km northeast of Aleppo. Two fighters were killed and another was wounded.

The Iraqi arena

ISIS’s attacks in the various provinces^[3]

Diyala Province

• On September 20, 2020, a sticky bomb was activated against the vehicle of an Iraqi police officer in the city of Baqubah. He was killed.
• On September 20, 2020, two Iraqi policemen were targeted by sniper fire about 35 km northeast of Baqubah. One policeman was killed and the other was wounded.
• On September 20, 2020, an IED was activated against the Iraqi counterterrorist unit about 15 km northeast of Baqubah. The passengers were killed or wounded.
• On September 19, 2020, a Tribal Mobilization fighter was targeted by sniper fire about 80 km northeast of Baqubah. He was killed.
• On September 19, 2020, ISIS operatives captured an Iraqi policeman about 100 km northeast of Baqubah. He was shot to death.
• On September 18, 2020, two fighters of the counterterrorist unit were targeted by sniper fire about 15 km northeast of Baqubah. One fighter was killed and the other was wounded.
• On September 16, 2020, Popular Mobilization fighters were targeted by sniper fire about 60 km north of Baqubah. One fighter was killed and two others were wounded.
• On September 15, 2020, an Iraqi policeman was targeted by sniper fire about 15 km northeast of Baqubah. He was killed.

Al-Anbar Province

• On September 20, 2020, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization vehicle near the village of Akashat, about 80 km north of Al-Rutba (about 30 km from the Iraqi-Syrian border). Several fighters were killed or wounded.

Kirkuk Province

• On September 19, 2020, an Iraqi federal police compound was targeted by machine gun fire about 60 km west of Kirkuk. Two policemen were wounded.
• On September 18, 2020, an IED was activated against an Iraqi police foot patrol in a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the city of Kirkuk. Two policemen were wounded.
• On September 17, 2020, an IED was activated and machine guns were fired at a Popular Mobilization vehicle about 35 km southwest of Kirkuk. Three fighters were killed. In addition, an assault rifle was seized.
• On September 14, 2020, a checkpoint of the oil facility police on the Erbil-Kirkuk highway was targeted by machine gun fire. One policeman was killed and three others were wounded. In addition, an IED was activated against another force which arrived at the scene to provide assistance. Five security operatives were wounded.

Nineveh Province

• On September 20, 2020, ISIS operatives broke into the house of an Iraqi army and (Kurdish) Peshmerga intelligence operative about 35 km northwest of Mosul. He was shot to death.
• On September 19, 2020, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization commander about 70 km south of Mosul. He was killed.

Erbil Province

• On September 21, 2020, an IED was activated against a Tribal Mobilization vehicle about 60 km southwest of Erbil. One fighter was killed.

Counterterrorist activities by the Iraqi security forces

Nineveh Province

• On September 21, 2020, forces of the Iraqi National Security Apparatus set up ambushes in the western Nineveh Province, near the border between Iraq and Syria. Three ISIS operatives were captured. One of them, a Syrian national, was in charge of finance. The three admitted having entered Iraq with the intention of setting up squads to carry out attacks (Al-Sumaria, September 21, 2020).
• On September 19, 2020, teams of the Military Intelligence Directorate and an Iraqi army force captured eight members of an ISIS network about 60 km south of Mosul. One of the detainees was a senior ISIS operative who operated in Mosul at the time (Facebook page of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, September 19, 2020).
• On September 19, 2020, teams of the Military Intelligence Directorate and an Iraqi army force located an ISIS hiding place about 100 km northwest of Mosul, near the Iraqi-Syrian border. They found weapons and explosives at the site (Facebook page of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, September 19, 2020).
• On September 17, 2020, teams of the National Security Apparatus in the Nineveh Province captured four men who had served in ISIS’s headquarters in Iraq (Al-Sumaria, September 17, 2020).

Al-Anbar Province

• On September 19, 2020, teams of the Al-Anbar Intelligence Directorate, which is subordinate to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, captured two wanted ISIS operatives. The two had been commanders in the Al-Anbar Province while ISIS controlled the region. Under interrogation, they admitted having intended to carry out attacks in the Al-Anbar Province (Al-Sumaria, September 19, 2020).

Salah al-Din Province

• On September 21, 2020, the Iraqi security forces captured 10 wanted ISIS operatives in various areas throughout the Salah al-Din Province. Two of them were captured while trying to escape to a “neighboring country” (apparently, Iran) in the area of Sulaymaniyah (Al-Sumaria, September 21, 2020).
• On September 19, 2020, the Iraqi security forces exchanged fire with ISIS operatives south of Mosul. Five ISIS operatives were killed (al-hashed.net, September 19, 2020).

• On September 19, 2020, teams of the Military Intelligence Directorate and an Iraqi army force located three hiding places and a tunnel belonging to ISIS about 50 km south of Mosul. They found five IEDs and light weapons (Facebook page of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, September 19, 2020).

Kirkuk Province

• On September 17, 2020, an Iraqi Military Intelligence force detained an ISIS squad in Kirkuk. Among its members were ISIS prominent commanders. The squad was responsible for logistical assistance and the provision of food and electronic equipment in ISIS’s Kirkuk Province. This squad had previously engaged in terrorist activity (Al-Sumaria, September 17, 2020).

Sulaymaniyah Province

• On September 20, 2020, teams of the Baghdad Intelligence Directorate, carrying out an operation in Sulaymaniyah in coordination with the Kurdish Internal Security force, captured a wanted ISIS operative. Under interrogation, he admitted having participated in attacks against Iraqi security forces and civilians. His interrogation revealed that he was connected to ISIS operatives in the Fallujah area (Al-Sumaria, September 20, 2020).

The Sinai Peninsula