IDLIB, Syria — After the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) cracked down on cells affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), the latter’s activity seems to have diminished, especially in June, which was the quietest month in terms of IS operations in the SDF-held areas in northern Syria.

This decline was particularly evident in the city of Raqqa and its countryside, while IS cells are still active in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor where they target the SDF or civilians cooperating with it almost on a daily basis. IS also targets some tribal sheikhs loyal to the SDF, in addition to clerics who either support the SDF or attack IS through their sermons in mosques.

On June 25, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that three members of the SDF’s self-styled security forces were killed and six others wounded in an ambush carried out by unknown gunmen, who are likely to be affiliated with IS. The latter targeted a bus in the town of Jazra al-Milag in the western countryside of Deir ez-Zor.

On June 22, SOHR reported, “The SDF cordoned off at midnight the city of al-Busaira in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, and imposed a curfew, coinciding with the ongoing raids and arrests [of IS suspects]. A man and his wife who were on their roof were shot at during an SDF raid.”