During the month of April, North and East Syria suffered from a large increase in attacks by ISIS cells, killing dozens of people across several regions. In just the ten days between April 20 and April 30, ISIS conducted at least 20 attacks. That is more than in the entire months of February 2022 and March 2022 combined, according to the Rojava Information Center.
An attack in Deir-ez-Zor on April 27, targeting an iftar gathering, killed 7 people, including Nuri al-Hamish, head of the Deir ez-Zor Civil Council Public Relations Office. Overall, more than two dozen security forces and civilians have been killed since April 17, when ISIS spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajir called on ISIS fighters to carry out revenge attacks for the deaths of al-Qurayshi and al-Baghdadi.
The increase in attacks has come alongside decreasing humanitarian resources, economic instability, and the continuing threat of the violent al-Hawl Camp, where over 50,000 ISIS-affiliated individuals remain. Most of them are from outside of Syria. ISIS activities have seen a general uptick since the large-scale Hasakah prison attack in January, 2022.