Sleeper Cell Report October 2025 – ISIS attacks down this month; repatriations to Iraq continue

Key points:

• 20 attacks leave five military personnel dead and 12 wounded
• Attacks down on last month after rising for four consecutive months
• 840 Iraqis repatriated from al-Hol camp alongside 12 South Africans and 55 Syrians who returned home

 

In-depth

This month was marked by a small drop in ISIS activity after four months of increasing attacks. 20 attacks killed five and injured 12 military personnel and killed two civilians while injuring another. Attacks this month included arson attacks, bombings and shootings and continued attacks on civilians under the pretence of them refusing to pay Zakat, an Islamic tax ISIS uses to extort money from civilians. Despite the drop in attacks, this month’s total remains slightly above the year’s monthly average of 18.3 attacks.

On October 1, the Syrian Defence Forces announced they had arrested an ISIS cell in Deir ez-Zor where the majority of ISIS activity in the region remains concentrated. Other notable arrests include a man responsible for distributing weapons and equipment to ISIS cells and another cell leader based east of Aleppo. Both arrests were made in conjunction with the Coalition.

In total, 17 suspected ISIS members were arrested and one killed in ten raids this month. The SDF also conducted a large operation in Ain Issa, Raqqa Canton, arresting 71 individuals connected with ISIS and organised crime. RIC were unable to verify how many of these arrests were alleged ISIS members and so have not included these numbers in our total number of arrests

In al-Hol camp a 14-year-old Turkmen girl was found raped and murdered in al-Hol camp. North Press Agency reported that Fatima Abdullah suffered sexual assault, torture, and strangulation before her death.

840 ISIS-linked women and children from 249 different families left al-Hol camp to Iraq after the Iraqi government organised their repatriation to put them through a rehabilitation program in al-Jadah camp south of Mosul. While Iraq approaches 20,000 repatriations, other countries are dragging their heels, scared of backlash from their citizens. After two ISIS linked women and their four children organised their own travel back to Australia last month, furore erupted in the Australian press. Their return was debated heavily and the Australian Federal Police confirmed they had opened an investigation into their return. Amid a rising global far-right marked by its anti-immigrant and Islamophobic beliefs, other governments watching the backlash in Australia may remain hesitant to repatriate more citizens. 

55 Syrians meanwhile also embarked on a journey to return to their home provinces. The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have been working together on a voluntary return program to return those with chronic illnesses and other humanitarian cases to their homes in Syria. This third wave under the program comprised mostly women and children from twelve families from Homs, Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo.

On October 19, the US envoy to Syria and Lebanon, Tom Barrack, celebrated Coalition and Syrian Transitional Government (STG) forces killing Khaled Massoud al-Badri, a tribal leader who they believed to be a senior ISIS operative. Al-Badri had previously been photographed with STG officials during a visit to the Damascus countryside and in another photo with a HTS flag. Another photo emerged suggesting al-Badri was present in Suwayda during July’s massacre.

Al-Badri was shot twice during the raid before being taken to hospital and subsequently released after Damascus officials intervened. It later transpired after al-Badri died from his injuries that he was likely working as a spy undercover for Syrian intelligence. His killing poses questions about the level of intelligence sharing between the STG and Coalition forces and America’s continued presence in the region as Syria prepares to join the Coalition.