As Syria grapples with ongoing instability, ISIS militants have escalated their operations, exploiting the country’s fragile security landscape and deepening tensions.

Last week, the group claimed their first attacks directly on Syrian Transitional Government forces in the southern majority Druze province of Suweida. This marks a significant escalation, as ISIS had not been active in this region for close to ten years. At least three members of the Syrian Army’s 70th Division were wounded and one was killed when a patrol was hit a remote-controlled land mine.

In the weeks prior, ISIS continued to launched series of coordinated attacks—many within a single 24-hour period— in areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration in the north and east of Syria. The violence, concentrated between May 25 and May 26 and targeted territories under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

In the town of Darnaj in Deir ez-Zor province, an ISIS militant was killed after residents alerted SDF units to suspicious activity, including attempts to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs), allowing SDF forces to intervene before the devices could be detonated.

Further west, in the village of Qawas near the city of Tabqa, ISIS fighters ambushed an SDF patrol using grenades. The patrol had been conducting a security sweep following reports of increased militant activity. One ISIS member was killed and three others captured during the skirmish, and two SDF personnel were wounded in the assault.

Elsewhere, on the road linking al-Kalta and al-Khaniz villages in Raqqa’s countryside, an SDF vehicle was ambushed, resulting in the death of one fighter and injuries to two others.

In response to the surge in attacks, the SDF has imposed a curfew across several affected regions and launched a series of counter-terror operations to root out sleeper cells and prevent further violence.

ISIS activity has notably intensified in 2025, with 99 confirmed attacks so far this year, including ambushes and bombings, claiming the lives of 23 SDF members and five civilians. Deir ez-Zor remains the most heavily impacted region, though significant incidents have also been reported in Raqqa and Hasakah, and the recent successful attacks in Suweida have widened the theatre.

An ISIS fighter who was killed while attempting to plant an IED to target SDF forces