Alarming escalation in ISIS mercenary activity during 2025
ISIS/Daesh mercenary attacks on the northeast region of Syria have increased since the beginning of this year. The mercenaries, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, have launched 83 attacks, a clear indication of their effort to reorganize their ranks and reassert themselves. Conversely, the SDF dismantled several mercenary cells and detained 25 mercenaries, including commanders, during the same period.
The Syrian battlefield is witnessing disturbing security trends with the rising number of ISIS mercenary activities across 2025. This indicates the mercenaries' attempts to reorganize their forces and strengthen their grip over large expanses of the country, particularly the Syrian Badia and northeast Syria, following the ruin caused by the collapse of the Baathist regime.
SOHR: ISIS carried out 83 attacks since beginning of 2025
ISIS mercenaries launched 83 attacks in northeast Syria since the beginning of the year, exploiting the breakdown of security in the Syrian Badia following the fall of the former Syrian regime on December 8 last year. The attacks were more violent and diversified than in 2024, confirming ISIS mercenaries' efforts to reactivate their cells and achieve field breakthroughs.
Seventy of these attacks were concentrated in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, killing 16 civilians and military personnel and wounding 14 others.
The mercenaries also launched nine attacks on al-Hasakah and its suburbs, in which seven people, including SDF and Internal Security Forces members, were killed and two others were wounded. The mercenaries also launched four attacks on Raqqa, in which one member of the Internal Security Forces was killed and five others were wounded.
Statistics of 2024: A Bloody Heritage Haunts Us Still
Talking about the last year, 113 attacks were perpetrated by ISIS mercenaries in 2024, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) report, which represents a higher number of mercenary attacks this year compared to the previous ones.
On the other hand, the SDF conducted 98 security operations against mercenaries in 2024 where they killed 17 mercenaries, 6 of whom were commanders, and arrested 278 mercenaries. They also seized enormous quantities of weapons, ammunition, and materials used for the manufacturing of explosives and improvised explosive devices. The forces thwarted 43 intended attacks by the mercenaries.
The Security Vacuum in the Badia: A Gateway for ISIS Mercenaries to Return
Following the collapse of the Ba'athist state, ISIS mercenaries opportunistically exploited the instability and security vacuum in the Syrian Badia, an area that spans from Homs, Hama, Raqqa, to Deir ez-Zor to revive their sleeper cells and launch fresh attacks against several areas of northeastern Syria.
The raids were an effort by the mercenaries to capitalize on the weakness of the political and security situation in Syria to enhance their power.
SDF Ongoing Security Operations and Detention of 25 Mercenaries in 2025
Despite the tremendous difficulties the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were facing, specifically the relentless Turkish attacks on the Tishrin Dam and Qarqozak Bridge regions since the beginning of 2025, the SDF pursued its security operations to track down and dismantle ISIS mercenary networks.
In January, the Military Operations Teams (TOL) detained four ISIS mercenaries, including one leader.
In February, SDF commandos carried out a special operation in the town of Markada in the Hasakah countryside and dismantled an attack-planning cell. The operation resulted in the death of one mercenary, and the leader of the cell detonated himself with an explosive belt. Five other mercenaries were arrested and a large number of weapons were seized.
SDF operations in February also resulted in six mercenaries being detained in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, including one commander, and two mercenaries being shot in southern Hasakah. In March, the SDF arrested three high-ranking leaders in separate locations: one from the town of al-Busayrah in Deir ez-Zor's countryside on March 10, another from al-Hol Camp on March 13, and a third in Tabqa city on March 20. They also arrested yet another mercenary in southern Hasakah on March 28.
In April, the SDF had a number of significant operations, including on March 14 in Raqqa when they detained a cell leader and four members. On March 30, they detained the Deir ez-Zor explosives factory leader in a targeted operation. They also successfully repelled an ISIS attack on the Gharanij town on that day, resulting in casualties.
Another commander was detained in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor in May on May 3. Five attacks on SDF positions in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor were also thwarted, forcing ISIS mercenaries to retreat and flee.
Foreboding Indications of ISIS's Re-emergence
Statistics indicate that ISIS mercenary operations in 2025 are returning with strength and velocity. The attacks launched by the mercenaries, and the extent of the human and material losses caused by them, attest to an enhancement in their capabilities and the possibility of reorganizing their ranks under the current security and political conditions in Syria.
Despite the ongoing uninterrupted security operations of the Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS's resurgence in the middle poses a real threat to security in northern and eastern Syria and requires more local and international support to confront ISIS and not enable it to regain its previous capabilities.
T/S
ANHA
Alarming escalation in ISIS mercenary activity during 2025
The Syrian battlefield is witnessing disturbing security trends with the rising number of ISIS mercenary activities across 2025. This indicates the mercenaries' attempts to reorganize their forces and strengthen their grip over large expanses of the country, particularly the Syrian Badia and northeast Syria, following the ruin caused by the collapse of the Baathist regime.
SOHR: ISIS carried out 83 attacks since beginning of 2025
ISIS mercenaries launched 83 attacks in northeast Syria since the beginning of the year, exploiting the breakdown of security in the Syrian Badia following the fall of the former Syrian regime on December 8 last year. The attacks were more violent and diversified than in 2024, confirming ISIS mercenaries' efforts to reactivate their cells and achieve field breakthroughs.
Seventy of these attacks were concentrated in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, killing 16 civilians and military personnel and wounding 14 others.
The mercenaries also launched nine attacks on al-Hasakah and its suburbs, in which seven people, including SDF and Internal Security Forces members, were killed and two others were wounded. The mercenaries also launched four attacks on Raqqa, in which one member of the Internal Security Forces was killed and five others were wounded.
Statistics of 2024: A Bloody Heritage Haunts Us Still
Talking about the last year, 113 attacks were perpetrated by ISIS mercenaries in 2024, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) report, which represents a higher number of mercenary attacks this year compared to the previous ones.
On the other hand, the SDF conducted 98 security operations against mercenaries in 2024 where they killed 17 mercenaries, 6 of whom were commanders, and arrested 278 mercenaries. They also seized enormous quantities of weapons, ammunition, and materials used for the manufacturing of explosives and improvised explosive devices. The forces thwarted 43 intended attacks by the mercenaries.
The Security Vacuum in the Badia: A Gateway for ISIS Mercenaries to Return
Following the collapse of the Ba'athist state, ISIS mercenaries opportunistically exploited the instability and security vacuum in the Syrian Badia, an area that spans from Homs, Hama, Raqqa, to Deir ez-Zor to revive their sleeper cells and launch fresh attacks against several areas of northeastern Syria.
The raids were an effort by the mercenaries to capitalize on the weakness of the political and security situation in Syria to enhance their power.
SDF Ongoing Security Operations and Detention of 25 Mercenaries in 2025
Despite the tremendous difficulties the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were facing, specifically the relentless Turkish attacks on the Tishrin Dam and Qarqozak Bridge regions since the beginning of 2025, the SDF pursued its security operations to track down and dismantle ISIS mercenary networks.
In January, the Military Operations Teams (TOL) detained four ISIS mercenaries, including one leader.
In February, SDF commandos carried out a special operation in the town of Markada in the Hasakah countryside and dismantled an attack-planning cell. The operation resulted in the death of one mercenary, and the leader of the cell detonated himself with an explosive belt. Five other mercenaries were arrested and a large number of weapons were seized.
SDF operations in February also resulted in six mercenaries being detained in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, including one commander, and two mercenaries being shot in southern Hasakah. In March, the SDF arrested three high-ranking leaders in separate locations: one from the town of al-Busayrah in Deir ez-Zor's countryside on March 10, another from al-Hol Camp on March 13, and a third in Tabqa city on March 20. They also arrested yet another mercenary in southern Hasakah on March 28.
In April, the SDF had a number of significant operations, including on March 14 in Raqqa when they detained a cell leader and four members. On March 30, they detained the Deir ez-Zor explosives factory leader in a targeted operation. They also successfully repelled an ISIS attack on the Gharanij town on that day, resulting in casualties.
Another commander was detained in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor in May on May 3. Five attacks on SDF positions in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor were also thwarted, forcing ISIS mercenaries to retreat and flee.
Foreboding Indications of ISIS's Re-emergence
Statistics indicate that ISIS mercenary operations in 2025 are returning with strength and velocity. The attacks launched by the mercenaries, and the extent of the human and material losses caused by them, attest to an enhancement in their capabilities and the possibility of reorganizing their ranks under the current security and political conditions in Syria.
Despite the ongoing uninterrupted security operations of the Syrian Democratic Forces, ISIS's resurgence in the middle poses a real threat to security in northern and eastern Syria and requires more local and international support to confront ISIS and not enable it to regain its previous capabilities.
T/S
ANHA
