ISIS

The main event of the week was a double suicide bombing attack carried out by ISIS operatives in Baghdad. Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Asia. Noteworthy incidents this week: Syria: ISIS’s activity continued in the desert region. Iraq: ISIS ambushed and attacked forces of the Popular Mobilization (Shiite militias) north of Baghdad. The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS continued its attacks in the northern Sinai Peninsula against Egyptian army targets (mainly the activation of IEDs and shooting attacks at targets such as a tank, an armored vehicle and a bulldozer). Afghanistan: Noteworthy incidents this week included targeted killings of intelligence personnel through the use of sticky bombs (Kabul) and shooting at point-blank range (Jalalabad). Read more...

Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Europe. Syria: The desert region continues to be a hotbed of ISIS attacks concurrently with counterterrorism activity by the Syrian army and the forces supporting it. Iraq: This week, ISIS’s attacks continued in the Salah al-Din Province (north of Baghdad) and in several other provinces. The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS’s intensive activity in northern Sinai continues, mainly in the form of detonating IEDs against vehicles. Read more...

Last week, ISIS published several infographics, summing up the activity of its provinces in Iraq and Syria in 2020. The Iraqi Province remains the epicenter of ISIS’s activity and reorganization. The Syria Province is in second place among the various provinces in the volume of attacks (593). The West Africa Province (Nigeria and its neighbors): This province ranks third among ISIS’s provinces in the number of attacks (385) and first in terms of the number of fatalities in these attacks. The Sinai Peninsula: In the northern Sinai Peninsula, ISIS operatives continued to carry out successful guerrilla attacks against the Egyptian security forces, which repeatedly failed to provide an effective response to ISIS’s activity. Afghanistan (Khorasan Province): In Afghanistan, ISIS recovered from the blow that it had suffered at the hands of the Afghan army with US support in the Nangarhar Province (southwest of Kabul). Read more...

This year’s Christmas festivities throughout the Christian world, which were held on a limited scale due to the spread of COVID-19, passed without attacks by ISIS supporters, despite their public threats. Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Europe. Syria: ISIS operatives continued their intensive activity in the desert region west of the Euphrates Valley. Iraq: ISIS’s activity in northern and western Iraq focused on activating IEDs and sniper fire, and attacks on the Iraqi security forces, with no unusual incidents. Read more...

Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Asia. Noteworthy examples . Syria: routine activity continued in the area of Deir al-Zor and Al-Mayadeen and in the desert region west of the Euphrates Valley. Prominent modus operandi of ISIS’s attacks included targeted killings and the activation of IEDs against vehicles and soldiers of the SDF and the Syrian army. Iraq: the activity in northern and western Iraq consisted primarily of activating IEDs and targeted killings. The Iraqi Counterterrorism Unit has issued a report summarizing its activity against ISIS in 2020. According to the report, in the past year, 206 ISIS operatives were killed and 292 were apprehended. Read more...

Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Asia. Noteworthy examples: Syria: Clashes continue between ISIS and the Syrian army and forces supporting it in the desert region in eastern Syria. Iraq: ISIS’s intensive activity in northern and western Iraq continued, in the form of sniper fire, mortar shell fire, and attacking positions and compounds of the Iraqi security forces. The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS’s activity in northern Sinai continued, in the form of activating IEDs, targeted killings, and sniper fire. Somalia: ISIS released a video vehemently attacking Al-Qaeda and its affiliated Al-Shabaab movement. Afghanistan: ISIS fired 10 rockets, claiming that they were aimed at the military part of Kabul International Airport. Read more...