Sleeper-Cell Report June 2026 – Justice Palace Department’s Head Killed
The head of the Palace of Justice was seriously injured after being targeted in an attack on June 16.
Key Points
- Five sleeper cell attacks were recorded in June; a slight increase from only three in May
- A total of four military personnel were killed, and at least two injured
- Fatalities of two suspected ISIS affiliates were also recorded
- Paper leaflets containing Pro-ISIS propaganda were distributed in several provinces throughout Syria
In Depth
This month, RIC recorded a total five attacks, two of which have been directly claimed by ISIS at the time of writing, the remaining three are believed to have been carried out by ISIS members.
On June 15, unidentified gunmen believed to be of an ISIS cell attacked the headquarters of general security forces, two of its members were killed and several others injured, west of Raqqa city, before one of the attackers self-detonated.
On June 16, Salah Ahmad al-Saleh, head of the Palace of Justice in the town of Babila in rural Damascus was seriously injured by an explosive device attached to his vehicle. And on the same day, ISIS members targeted an oil tanker with machine-gun fire near the northern city of Manbij. Material damage to the tanker was reported.
On June 20, unidentified gunmen believed to be part of an ISIS cell, attacked members of the 76th Armored Division, causing the death of two Division’s members. The attack occurred near Tahnah junction in the western countryside of Manbij.
On June 24, two gunmen believed to be ISIS members, on a motorcycle opened fire on two members of the Engineering Regiment of the 72nd Division, on Ain Issa Road in Raqqa countryside, injuring both of them.
On June 19, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted an airstrike in northwest Syria. CENTCOM confirmed the killing of Ali Husayn al-‘Ulaywi, a senior ISIS leader.
Paper leaflets were distributed in several mosques across different areas in Daraa, Idlib and Aleppo provinces. The leaflets contain extremist content and rhetoric linked to ISIS.
Save the Children, an Australian children’s advocacy organization, called for the return of an ISIS-linked Australian woman and her disabled child from Syria after a failed repatriation attempt. Following the failed departure, Syrian authorities reportedly transferred them to a detention facility in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Governorate, since then, her family lost contact with her.
Another Australian woman was accused of supporting ISIS and appeared before a court in Melbourne, where prosecutors alleged she lived in a household that held a teenage girl in slavery while the victim was subjected to repeated abuse. Her request for bail was rejected, as prosecutors argued she poses a risk to public safety.
Tammy Bruce, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador said that it would continue working with Syria to combat ISIS, and support efforts to preserve stability and safety in the country.