Sleeper Cell Report February 2025 – ISIS attacks down in NES; US targets al-Qaeda’s Syria branch in Idlib

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al-Roj Camp

Key points

  • 7 confirmed sleeper cell attacks, down from 11 in January
  • One military personnel killed, four injured in ISIS attacks
  • 14 suspected ISIS members arrested, down from 17 last month
  • Three Iraqi repatriation operations in NES camps bring home over 1,393 people
  • ISIS crimes against the Yazidi people tried for the first time in a Swedish court

In-depth

This month, RIC recorded 7 sleeper cell attacks in NES; down from 11 in January. These attacks killed one military personnel and injured four. Most of these attacks happened in the Deir ez-Zor Canton. In this month’s raids conducted by the SDF and Asayish, 4 ISIS members were killed and 14 arrested, including senior ISIS members.

This month ISIS sleeper cell attacks targeted multiple military vehicles. These included a car of the SDF’s conscription forces in al-Dahlah village in eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside on February 2nd, with no casualties, and two vehicles of the Hajin Military Council, which is a component of the SDF’s Deir ez-Zor Military Council, in al-Baqaan town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor on February 9th. On the 13th, two sleeper cell gunmen attacked an SDF car in Gharanij town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. One SDF fighter was injured. On the same day, sleeper cell operatives attacked an Internal Security Forces’ vehicle on Al-Abyad road between Heseke and Raqqa. One member of the Internal Security Forces was injured. The next day, a sleeper cell ambush on an SDF car in Jazara al-Bohamid town, Deir ez-Zor, injured one fighter.

Outside of car attacks, on February 5th, a sleeper cell targeted SDF members between Abo Khashab and Mohaimaida in the al-Kasra area in Deir ez-Zor countryside, killing one SDF fighter and injuring another. At the end of the month, an SDF military post in al-Shanan town, Deir ez-Zor, came under sleeper cell fire, leaving no casualties.


ISIS suspects captured by the SDF’s TOL on February 10th [photo: SDF]

This month, the SDF and Asayish conducted nine counter-ISIS raids, four of which were with direct participation of the International Coalition forces. These operations led to the arrest of 14 suspected ISIS members. Four sleeper cell operatives were also killed during the raids.

One ISIS commander blew himself up, while another member was shot dead by SDF Military Operations Teams (TOL), following intense clashes in Markadah town in southern Heseke countryside on February 10th. Five suspected ISIS members were arrested during this operation. On February 23rd, Muawiyah al-Hajar, a senior ISIS leader, was arrested in an airdrop operation carried out by the SDF and International Coalition Forces in Gharibah al-Sharqiyah village in the northern Deir ez-Zor countryside.

Three Iraqi repatriation missions happened this month: one in Roj camp, and two others in al-Hol camp coordinated by the DAANES and Iraq’s Migration and Displacement Committee. On the 11th, 44 families departed from Roj camp, totaling around 184 individuals. On the 9th and 23rd, 594 and 618 Iraqis respectively left al-Hol camp. Iraq has repatriated a total of 17,796 people from the camp since 2017, as per RIC data. No repatriations of third-country foreigners occurred in February.

Marking the first time that ISIS crimes against the Yazidi people have been tried in a Swedish court, this month a Swedish woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing genocide and war crimes against the Yazidi people after she joined ISIS in Syria. She kept three Yazidi women and six Yazidi children as slaves in Raqqa between 2014-2016, during the time of the so-called Caliphate.

In Idlib – formerly the territory controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which was administratively under the Syrian Salvation Government – February witnessed intensive US aerial action against Hurras al-Din, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. Hurras al-Din was created as al-Qaeda’s official Syrian franchise when HTS formally cut ties from al-Qaeda in 2015. Hurras al-Din and HTS had co-existed in Idlib, with Coalition drones continuing to hunt down Hurras al-Din leaders. On January 28th, Hurras al-Din announced its formal dissolution, as per directives from al-Qaeda’s General Command. In a statement, the group urged its supporters to hold onto their weapons and prepare for future actions, suggesting clandestine operations may continue. Then, on January 30th, and February 15th, 21st and 23rd, CENTCOM carried out airstrikes killing four Hurras al-Din leaders. Prior to these, the last time such a strike occurred was in August 2024.