Observatory: ISIS Killed Over 100 in Syria Since Start of Year

ISIS continues its attacks despite its defeat in 2013. (AFP)
ISIS continues its attacks despite its defeat in 2013. (AFP)
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Observatory: ISIS Killed Over 100 in Syria Since Start of Year

ISIS continues its attacks despite its defeat in 2013. (AFP)
ISIS continues its attacks despite its defeat in 2013. (AFP)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that more than 100 civilians and military were killed in 50 operations on Syrian territories since the beginning of 2024, despite the “definitive defeat of the organization and the cessation of its control over extensive swathes of Syrian territory."

Since the start of the year, ISIS cells have executed 50 separate operations in the desert, including ambushes, armed assaults, and bombings in areas like the western Euphrates, Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, and Homs.

SOHR added that the death toll from these military activities in the Syrian desert has risen to 133 since the beginning of 2024. This toll includes 17 fatalities attributed to ISIS and 101 to regime forces and militias. Additionally, five civilians lost their lives while gathering truffles, and ten individuals, including a child, fell victim to ISIS attacks in the Syrian desert.

According to statistics from the Observatory, operations were delineated into various regions: 16 in the Deir Ezzor desert, resulting in the deaths of 27 soldiers, including seven from pro-Iran militias, two from the organization, and two truffle hunters. In the Homs desert, 27 operations led to the deaths of 50 soldiers, including three from pro-Iran militias and 12 from the organization, along with six civilians.

Additionally, three operations in the Raqqa desert resulted in 11 soldier fatalities, including three from the organization, while three operations in the Hama desert led to 10 soldier deaths and seven civilian casualties, including a child.

Furthermore, one operation in the Aleppo desert resulted in the deaths of three pro-Iranian militia members.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.