Shafaq News – Damascus

ISIS militants have killed five members of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and wounded six others since the start of December, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Saturday.

In a post on X, the UK-based monitor said ISIS cells carried out 13 attacks in the northeastern provinces of Deir Ez-Zor and Hasakah, targeting SDF personnel as well as oil and military facilities.

SOHR data earlier showed that more than 220 ISIS operations were recorded in areas under SDF control between the start of the year and November, leaving over 100 people dead.

The SDF controls large parts of northern and eastern Syria, including major oil and gas fields, and was formed with US backing as the main force fighting ISIS. It drove the group from its last territorial stronghold in eastern Syria in 2019, though sleeper cells have continued to mount attacks.

ISIS activity has remained persistent throughout 2025. In November, the group carried out a series of attacks on checkpoints manned by the SDF and its internal security forces, the Asayish, in Deir Ez-Zor, according to SOHR.

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