The recent ISIS attack on a bus carrying troops from the Syrian Army’s auxiliary forces, which resulted in the martyrdom of 22 members of the al-Quds Brigade, was not the group’s most severe attack in 2024. Numerous assaults on civilians and military personnel, particularly during the truffle-gathering season, preceded it.
This represents an unprecedented escalation in the organization’s attack patterns, methods, and impact as they have been relatively dormant since 2020. Since the onset of 2024, where 150 attacks have been recorded, with nearly two-thirds occurring in areas controlled by the Syrian Army, its auxiliary forces, and its allies, the group’s attacks have been on the rise.
Given that this figure spans a period of less than five months, it is significant and indicates that the organization has gained support financial and military support in a manner it had been lacking for years. This suggests that it is planning further attacks, possibly escalating them to the point of regaining control of areas close to the desert, in an attempt to stage a military comeback.
That is a red line for the Syrian Army, and as a result, it has recently intensified its airstrikes in light of the organization’s movements, monitored the activity of its cells, and launched preemptive strikes against it.
“Most of the ISIS terrorist organization’s attacks in the Syrian Army-controlled desert originate from the Tabqa farms to the east and the 55 km area adjacent to the Tanf base on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi tri-border,” sources told Al Mayadeen.
According to the sources, “the sites from which the attacks are carried out reveal US military and intelligence support for these cells to keep them alive and exploit them to destabilize areas under Syrian government control, particularly along the Damascus-Baghdad highway.”
“Washington benefits from the organization’s maintenance of offensive capabilities to maintain the pretext of pursuing the organization’s cells as a primary reason for its presence in Syria,” the sources added.
