Main events of the past week
- Afghanistan: ISIS operatives continue to carry out attacks against Taliban forces and Shiite civilians. The most prominent incident of the week was an attack in Kabul against two minibuses carrying Shiite residents. Many civilians were killed in the attack. The Taliban government sent hundreds of fighters to eastern Afghanistan to fight against ISIS. The US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on a senior operative in ISIS’s Khorasan Province who was working to fund the province’s terrorist activity.
- Syria: The downtrend in ISIS’s activity continues. Russian Air Force planes carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. In Iraq, ISIS’s activity was also limited.
- The Sinai Peninsula: Three fighters from the Tarabin tribe, which is part of the tribal union supporting the Egyptian army against ISIS, were killed in the explosion of a mine apparently planted by ISIS operatives.
- Africa: ISIS continued to attack military forces and Christian civilians, mainly in Nigeria, Mozambique and the Congo. In Niger, at least 25 local militia fighters were reported dead, apparently in an attack by ISIS-affiliated fighters.
- The battle for hearts and minds: with the approach of Christmas and New Year’s Day, ISIS-affiliated accounts on TikTok have begun posting content encouraging ISIS operatives and supporters to carry out terrorist attacks in Western countries.
Afghanistan
- This week, ISIS continued its activity in Afghanistan, targeting mainly Taliban members, elements collaborating with them, and Shiite civilians. Following are the main incidents (mostly according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility on Telegram):
- On November 22, 2021, a vehicle carrying a Taliban member and an intelligence operative of the former Afghanistan government was targeted by gunfire in Jalalabad. The two men were killed.
- On November 20, 2021, a Taliban vehicle was targeted by gunfire in Jalalabad. Three Taliban members in the vehicle were killed.
- On November 18, 2021, a Taliban member was killed in the Logar region, south of Kabul, and his weapon was seized by ISIS.
- On November 18, 2021, an IED was activated against a Taliban post in Kabul. Seven Taliban members were killed or wounded.
- On November 17, 2021, IEDs were activated against two minibuses carrying Shiite residents in Kabul. Over 20 people were killed or wounded (Telegram, November 17, 2021). The Taliban government reported one dead and six wounded. Other reports mentioned two dead and four according to another version (Reuters, November 17, 2021); Xinhua, November 17, 2021).
- This week, it was reported that the Taliban government sent hundreds of fighters to eastern Afghanistan to fight against ISIS (Washington Post, November 22, 2021). This is yet another effort by the Taliban to liquidate ISIS’s Khorasan Province and stabilize the Taliban regime.
- The US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Ismatullah Khalozai, a senior operative in ISIS’s Khorasan Province who had a money changing business in Turkey. He has acted as a financial facilitator for the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (US Department of the Treasury website, November 22, 2021).
The Syrian arena
Syrian governorates (freeworldmaps.net)
The Idlib region
- Exchanges of artillery fire continued this week between the Syrian army and the rebel forces in the rebel enclave in Idlib (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, November 18-20, 2021). Two Syrian soldiers were killed by rebel sniper fire at Syrian army positions (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, November 20, 2021).
Deir ez-Zor and Al-Mayadeen region[1]
- ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly reported that about a week ago, ISIS had carried out a series of attacks against SDF headquarters and roadblocks in various regions in the Deir ez-Zor Province. According to the report, at least eight SDF members were killed and several others were wounded (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, November 18, 2021).
- On November 22, 2021, ISIS operatives attacked an SDF vehicle in the Darnaj region, about 15 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. One fighter was killed and two others were wounded (Telegram, November 22, 2021).
The desert region (Al-Badia)
- ISIS claimed responsibility for ambushing operatives of Ussud al-Sharqiya, a local militia of the Al-Shueitat tribe supporting the Syrian army. The attack took place about 30 km northwest of Deir ez-Zor. According to ISIS’s claim of responsibility, the attack began with the activation of IEDs planted there, and then continued with gunfire. According to ISIS, at least seven militia fighters, including the force commander, were killed (Telegram, November 17, 2021).
The scene of the attack, which was documented by ISIS (Telegram, November 17, 2021)
- During the week, Russian fighter jets carried out several dozen airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, no 18-19, 2021).
Al-Hasakah region
- ISIS operatives broke into the house of an SDF “spy” in the Al-Hawl area, near Al-Hasakah, and killed him (Telegram, November 17, 2021).
The Iraqi arena
Provinces of Iraq (Wikipedia)
Attacks by province[2]
Diyala Province
- On November 22, 2021, an Iraqi army position was attacked in the Bahraz region, south of Baqubah. One soldier was killed and three others were wounded.
- On November 20, 2021, an Iraqi army position was targeted by gunfire north of Al-Azim, about 60 km north of Baqubah. Two soldiers were wounded.
- On November 17, 2021, an Iraqi army position was targeted by gunfire and hand grenades in the Jalula region, about 75 km northeast of Baqubah. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded. An IED was activated against a patrol vehicle that arrived on the scene. The passengers on board were wounded.
Counterterrorism measures in Iraq
Diyala Province
- Five ISIS operatives were killed in an Iraqi Air Force airstrike (Iraqi Defense Ministry, November 20, 2021).
Al-Anbar Province
- The Popular Mobilization forces announced the launching of a campaign against ISIS in the eastern part of the province (Sada al-Balad, November 20, 2021).
Sinai Peninsula
- Three fighters of the Tarabin tribe, which is part of the tribal union supporting the Egyptian army against ISIS, were killed in the explosion of a mine apparently planted by ISIS south of Rafah (Shahed Sinaa al-Rasmia Facebook page, November 21, 2021).