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.



Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
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Israeli Military Says it Struck 'Key' Hamas Figure in Lebanon's Tripoli

People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh
People gather near a damaged car after the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Ayrounieh, northern Lebanon July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Walid Saleh

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months.

In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them, Reuters reported.

Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades.

Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon.

Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce.

Meanwhile, US envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.