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IS cells escalate attacks on civilians, regime soldiers in eastern Syria

Despite the elimination of the Islamic State from its last official territory in Syria in March 2019, IS cells that have been holed up in desert areas in eastern and central Syria remain active and terrorize civilians and soldiers alike.
A fighter from the Syrian Democratic forces (SDF) carries a military vest said to have belonged to Islamic State (IS) group jihadists, recovered in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-le

Backed by air support from the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (IS), the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) raided the village of Abriha in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor on Dec. 19 and dismantled an IS network. The operation resulted in the arrest of Ali al-Jadoua, a prominent IS leader, along with his two assistants Khalaf al-Qura and Muhammad al-Qura.

An SDF officer told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Jadoua held several positions in IS. He was the mastermind behind the assassination of some Arab tribal sheikhs and leaders in the region. He also orchestrated the killing of a number of SDF forces and was behind the extortion of civilians and merchants. He coordinated with other IS leaders who are yet to be found and arrested.”

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