ISIS Carried out 15 Operations in Syrian Desert in January

A file photo published by the “As Suwayda 24” website, of a combing operation in the Syrian Badia.
A file photo published by the “As Suwayda 24” website, of a combing operation in the Syrian Badia.
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ISIS Carried out 15 Operations in Syrian Desert in January

A file photo published by the “As Suwayda 24” website, of a combing operation in the Syrian Badia.
A file photo published by the “As Suwayda 24” website, of a combing operation in the Syrian Badia.

The ISIS group carried out 15 attacks in Syria’s desert (Badia) in January, killing 21 regime soldiers and members of proxy militias, including 12 Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed on Thursday.

It said one ISIS member was killed in those attacks.

“ISIS continues its attacks in different areas controlled by the Syrian regime and its allies in the Syrian desert in Homs, Deir Ezzor and Al-Raqqa,” the Britain-based group said on its website.

On January 4, the Observatory said two Afghan members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed by a landmine planted in a house near a shopping center designated for Iran-backed militias in the Al-Jamaiah neighborhood, west of Palmyra.

The next day, two regime-backed National Defense Forces (NDF) members were severely injured by a landmine war remnant planted by ISIS near the Al-Rasafa area in the southwestern Raqqa desert. The regime members were carrying out combing operations in the desert.

On January 7, a regime soldier was killed and at least four others sustained injuries in a surprise attack by ISIS cells in the Juaydeen area in Al-Tabaqah desert in western Raqqa. The terrorist group had taken advantage of the foggy conditions to carry out the operation.

Two days later, ISIS fighters opened machine-gun fire at a regime military outpost near Al-Jalaa town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. The ensuing clashes left one ISIS member dead, while the others fled the scene.

That same day, a Syrian member of local Iran-backed militias was killed in an attack by ISIS cells on the militias’ military headquarters in Palmyra city in the eastern Homs countryside.

Also, ISIS cells attacked regime positions in Al-Masrib desert in western Deir Ezzor countryside, killing several regime forces.

On January 12, a regime captain died of the injury he has sustained in the explosion of a landmine in a military vehicle in the Al-Tanf area in the 55 km de-confliction zone, near the Syria-Jordan-Iraq border.

Three days later, a regime soldier was killed in an ISIS attack on regime positions in Al-Sokhna desert in the Homs countryside.

On January 16, another regime soldier was killed in an attack, by unknown parties believed to be linked to ISIS, on a regime military post near the Al-Madhoul road in the Al-Kharitah desert in western Deir Ezzor.

The next day, four regime soldiers were injured by an improvised explosive device that was planted by ISIS cells on the road to the Al-Thawra oil field in Al-Tabaqah desert, west of Raqqa.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."