ISIS

Syria: In the Idlib region, exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces. Iraq: This week, the Iraqi security forces continued their counterterrorism activity against ISIS operatives. A number of ISIS operatives were killed in the attack, including senior figures. Africa: The intensive activity of ISIS operatives in Africa continues, with an emphasis on Nigeria. Afghanistan: ISIS claimed responsibility for an exchange of fire in Jalalabad on February 15, 2021, between fighters of an Afghan elite unit and ISIS operatives. Tunisia: ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly published a report on its activity in Tunisia (which has not yet been declared an official ISIS province). Read more...

In the Idlib region, exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces, south and southeast of Idlib. Iraq: ISIS continued its activity against the Iraqi security forces, mainly in the form of sniper and machine gun fire and activating IEDs. Africa: ISIS carried out intensive activity this week, mainly in Nigeria. This week, there was also an increase in ISIS’s attacks against the Afghan security forces, mainly in Jalalabad in the Nangarhar Province. Read more...

Syria: During the week, the Syrian army and the forces supporting it suffered heavy losses at the hands of ISIS operatives in the desert region (Al-Badia). Iraq: The Popular Mobilization forces announced the killing of ISIS’s commander of North Baghdad and Karmah. In the Sinai Peninsula, after a period of relative calm, ISIS operatives ambushed and killed six fighters of the tribal militias that support the Egyptian regime and abducted another fighter. Afghanistan: ISIS’s terrorist activity continued. Most of the attacks were carried out in the city of Jalalabad and were directed mainly at Afghan Intelligence and government officials. Africa: ISIS’s attacks continued, mainly against Nigerian army forces in the northeast of the country. Read more...

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...