ISIS Strikes ‘Baghdad Belt’

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi wears a military uniform of Popular Mobilization Forces during his visit to the PMF HQ in Baghdad, Iraq May 16, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi wears a military uniform of Popular Mobilization Forces during his visit to the PMF HQ in Baghdad, Iraq May 16, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters
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ISIS Strikes ‘Baghdad Belt’

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi wears a military uniform of Popular Mobilization Forces during his visit to the PMF HQ in Baghdad, Iraq May 16, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi wears a military uniform of Popular Mobilization Forces during his visit to the PMF HQ in Baghdad, Iraq May 16, 2020. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via Reuters

ISIS has continued to launch nighttime attacks in western and northern Iraq, reaching the Tarmiyah region which belongs to what is called the Baghdad belt.

The terror group branded the attacks as “Ramadan invasions,” named after Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

In a rare show of force, the first of its kind in months, ISIS militants infiltrated a Tarmiyah village, located north of Baghdad, and kidnapped and slayed one of the security personnel positioned there.

This coincided with a series of operations launched by ISIS on Saturday in the Diyala and Salahuddin governorates and Samarra city. Published footage showed ISIS slaying four members of the same family in Samarra.

On Friday night, ISIS targeted a security checkpoint in northeastern Baghdad, causing casualties, according to security sources. Details about the casualties were not released.

Meanwhile in northern Diyala, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said a terrorist attack caused one death and 10 injuries.

The Iraqi army and the local Diyala Police, in eastern Iraq, launched a military operation south of Buhriz district to pursue ISIS operatives.

“The Diyala Operations Command, represented by the Iraqi Army's Fifth Infantry Division and the Diyala police, will conduct search operations in the southern Buhriz regions, implement arrest warrants for the wanted, and prosecute the remnants of the (ISIS) terrorist cells, as well as enhance security and stability there,” a security statement said.

Member of the parliamentary Security and Defense Committee MP Bader al-Ziyadi confirmed that, in the next few days, an expansive security operation to counter ISIS will be launched.

“There are steps that will be taken to eradicate these (ISIS) outposts and their sleeping cells from our regions,” Ziyadi asserted.

"Planned operations in the areas where terrorist groups emerged are awaiting the announcement of the zero hour for their launch, after all procedures for them have been completed,” Ziyadi noted, adding that army air power will participate in crushing the terrorist organization.

The MP also warned that those involved in harboring ISIS militants will be held accountable.



Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The head of security in Syria’s Damascus countryside, Hussam Al-Tahan, said a security operation in the flashpoint town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya had concluded, with Syrian forces now deployed across all neighborhoods to restore calm and stability.

State-run SANA news agency quoted Tahan as saying security forces had taken full control of the area, located southwest of the capital, and were launching measures to secure civilians and stabilize the situation.

Syrian state television reported that large reinforcements from General Security had entered the town to pursue what it described as “outlawed groups,” with forces now deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent further violence.

At least 75 people were injured over the past 48 hours in Sahnaya, according to state television, amid heavy gunfire and attacks blamed on armed groups. The clashes have stoked fears of deepening sectarian tensions in the area.

In an effort to defuse the crisis, local dignitaries and religious leaders from the Druze community held a meeting with the governors of Damascus countryside, Sweida, and Quneitra. Syria’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Osama Abdul Karim Al-Rifai, called on citizens to reject sectarian strife.

“Any act of revenge or retaliation is unjust,” the Mufti said in a televised address on Wednesday. “Syrian blood is sacred. Do not listen to calls for revenge – extinguishing this strife will save lives,” he added, urging Syrians to allow justice to take its course.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that armed militants had launched a surprise assault on several General Security checkpoints in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, injuring a number of personnel.

In response, security forces fanned out across the area. But snipers from the armed groups reportedly took up positions on rooftops, targeting officers and killing five General Security members and wounding others.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the ministry added, militants opened fire on a vehicle arriving from the southern province of Daraa, killing six civilians inside.

General Security forces have since tightened control in and around the town, sending additional units to contain the violence and ensure the safety of residents.

A curfew was imposed on Tuesday after gunmen based in a nearby town launched an attack on security posts surrounding Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. The situation briefly calmed after General Security forces took up positions at the town’s eastern entrance, but clashes flared again overnight and continued into Wednesday morning.

A security source in Damascus said a wide-scale sweep was underway to arrest armed groups accused of using the town as a base for launching “terrorist operations” against civilians.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, residents described a harrowing night of intense gunfire, explosions, and drone activity. “We didn’t sleep. The sound of gunfire and mortars didn’t stop,” said one civilian source. “Snipers were on rooftops, and drones hovered all night.”

With no reliable news source other than conflicting and fear-inducing social media updates, residents expressed confusion about the unfolding events.

Locals called on Syrian civil society to act and protest against incitement and militia activity, urging the disarmament of rogue groups. They warned that armed factions from outside Sahnaya were launching attacks from the town’s outskirts, including a shooting incident on Tuesday that targeted a General Security checkpoint.

Tensions flared further in and around the Syrian capital as the town of Jaramana, south of Damascus, held funerals on Wednesday for seven people killed in overnight clashes earlier this week.

The city witnessed heavy fighting between Monday and Tuesday night, part of a broader wave of unrest in southern Damascus and surrounding areas.