Sleeper Cell Report April 2025 – Two security campaigns launched in NES camps
Key points
- 22 confirmed sleeper cell attacks; up from 15 in March
- Nine military personnel killed, seven others injured in ISIS attacks
- 16 suspected ISIS members arrested, down from 17 last month
- Two security campaigns launched in al-Hol and Roj camps
- Two groups leave NES camps to return to Deir ez-Zor
- One Iraqi repatriation mission brings home over 866 people
- DAANES hands over ISIS-affiliated British woman and her three children to British government delegation
In depth
This month, RIC recorded 22 sleeper cell attacks in NES; up from 15 in March. These attacks killed nine military personnel and injured seven. Most attacks happened in the Deir ez-Zor canton. In this month’s raids conducted by the SDF and Asayish, excluding the security campaigns, 16 ISIS members were arrested.
This month sleeper cell attacks targeted multiple civilians and SDF positions. The attacks on civilians came on 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 17, 20 of the month, resulting in the deaths of three civilians and the injury of two others, one of whom is an elder from the al-Akeidat tribe. His car was attacked in the town al-Azbah in the northern Deir ez-Zor countryside.
In Deir ez-Zor, ISIS cells attacked several SDF positions, some of which resulted in casualties. On April 7, an ISIS sleeper cell attacked the al-Jamaiya Asayish checkpoint in the eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside. An SDF military vehicle was attacked the following day; no casualties were reported from either incident. On April 10, ISIS cells targeted a checkpoint. On April 13, sleeper cell gunmen opened fire on an SDF vehicle in which one SDF member was killed and three others were injured. On the same day, another SDF member was killed in a separate attack. On April 14, members of ISIS cells opened fire on an SDF military post, injuring one SDF fighter.
Meanwhile in Hasaka, ISIS cells attacked several SDF military positions. On April 17 one SDF member was killed by ISIS gunmen. On April 21 ISIS cells opened fire on a military vehicle.
On April 28, five members of the Self-Defense Forces (HXP) were killed during an ISIS attack at a checkpoint in al-Jazarat in the western Deir ez-Zor countryside, and one SDF member was killed during an attack on a military vehicle in the town of Dhiban.
On April 14, the SDF Military Operations Teams (TOL) conducted a raid in Raqqa, in which five members of an ISIS cell – Abdul Eid, Hussein Muhammad, Abdul Yusuf, Jasim Saleh and Hamad al-Khalaf – were arrested. The cell had reportedly been receiving and assigning ISIS recruits from abroad and preparing an attack on Raqqa prison to facilitate escape of ISIS-affiliated detainees. On April 29, the SDF TOL with support from the Coalition, launched a raid in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, capturing Hanan Jaber al-Ali, also known as Abu Muhammad, a member of an ISIS cell and manufacturer of explosives and IEDs.
Arrest of Hanan Jaber al-Ali and weapons cache by SDF TOL, Deir ez-Zor (source: SDF)
On April 5, the Asayish announced the launch of a security campaign, supported by the YPJ, in Roj camp of Jazera canton, which houses families suspected of affiliation with ISIS. The operation lasted for three consecutive days, and resulted in the arrest of 16 suspected ISIS members. Communications equipment was also seized, and a hidden trench beneath the camp’s outer perimeter was discovered.
On April 18, the Asayish in coordination with YPJ and supported by the SDF announced the launch of a security campaign to sweep al-Hol Camp. It resulted in the arrest of 20 suspected ISIS members alongside a cache of weapons and ammunition being seized.
Two groups of people voluntarily left camps in North and East Syria to return to their homes of origin in Deir ez-Zor this month: ten families, totaling around 88 individuals, left from al-Arisha IDP camp on April 15. The other group of 76 families, totaling around 296 individuals, left al-Hol camp on April 27. This was in accordance with a decision issued on January 23 by DAANES to facilitate the return of displaced persons in North and East Syria who wish to return to their regions of origin. The initiative applies to families in the camps as IDPs, and does not refer to families that are assumed to be ISIS-affiliated.
One Iraqi repatriation mission occurred on April 15 in which 241 families – around 866 individuals – departed from al-Hol camp. Iraq has repatriated a total of 21,894 people from the camp since 2017, as per RIC data.
The DAANES facilitated the repatriation of an ISIS-affiliated family – one woman and her three children – to a British government delegation. In 2025, this was the second occurence of third-country foreigner repatriation. A total of 3,533 third-country foreigners have now been repatriated from NES.
