Following the Syrian Transitional Government’s expansion of its effective control area in Syria in December 2024, ISIS mercenaries, finding more room to maneuver, intensified their attacks on North and East Syria. ISIS carried out 18 attacks across the region between October 2 and 29, 2025. Five SDF fighters and two civilians were killed in the attacks, while ten SDF fighters, four members of the Internal Security Forces, and two civilians were wounded.
Details of the attacks carried out in the region, particularly directed against the Deir ez-Zor Canton, are as follows:
October 2: ISIS mercenaries attacked a SDF vehicle on the Miêzîliyê village road north of Raqqa. Two fighters were wounded.
October 5: A mine attack was carried out on a SDF vehicle in the village of Mihemîdiyê, west of Deir ez-Zor, and one fighter was slightly injured.
October 7: An attack targeted a vehicle of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council on the Mihemîdiye–Mamil line west of Deir ez-Zor. The driver of the vehicle was wounded.
October 11: A motorcycle attack targeted a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces in the town of Kisra. The ensuing clash did not result in casualties.
October 13: As a result of a motorcycle attack on a SDF vehicle in Til Semin, north of Raqqa, one fighter was killed and another was injured.
October 15: Two civilians were killed in a motorcycle attack on a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces in the town of Kerama. The attacker was killed in the ensuing clash. On the same day, further attacks were carried out against the Deir ez-Zor Military Council in Behra and a checkpoint in the town of Shifa.
October 16: An RPG attack targeted a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces in the town of Ziban, east of Deir ez-Zor.
October 17: An attack was carried out against shopkeepers who refused to give “alms” in the town of Behra in Deir ez-Zor. On the same night, the Behra Civil Council building was set on fire, and another attack was directed against the Military Council point in Sûsê, leaving one fighter wounded.
October 19: Four members were injured in an attack on a Drug Enforcement Unit vehicle in the Mihemîda district of Deir ez-Zor.
October 20: Two SDF fighters were killed and three others wounded in a bomb attack in the village of Hisan, west of Deir ez-Zor. On the same day, two more fighters were killed and another two wounded in a mine explosion on the Mihemîdiya-Xurafî road in the canton.
October 24: A SDF vehicle was targeted by a mine on the Mihemîda road in Deir ez-Zor Canton, with no casualties. On the same day, the Pomegranate Festival tent in the town of Sûsê was set on fire.
October 29: In the town of Fal, north of Deir ez-Zor, an attack on an oil tanker left the driver injured and the tanker damaged.
ISIS cells have carried out a total of 202 attacks since the beginning of 2025, mainly in the Deir ez-Zor Canton and across North-East Syria.
Last September, the mercenaries carried out a total of 12 attacks, killing 21 SDF fighters and injuring 9 fighters and 1 civilian.