Sleeper-Cell Report July 2026 – Global Coalition reports 0 confirmed ISIS attacks
An ISIS flag was raised on a school building in al-Zubari, eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside
Key Points
– Six sleeper-cell attacks recorded by RIC, but the Global Coalition claims 0 attacks were officially claimed by ISIS
– One military personnel was killed, and a further five injured
– A minimum of seven alleged ISIS members were arrested
– A total of 36 civilians were injured, two killed
– An ISIS flag was raised on a school building in Deir ez-Zor
– Two Tunisian families linked to ISIS mercenaries repatriated from Roj camp
In-Depth
In July of 2026, RIC recorded six sleeper-cell attacks which some publications have attributed to ISIS, according to North Press Agency one of these attacks was claimed by ISIS whereas the Global Coalition reported that July was the first month since the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019, where they claimed 0 attacks. Also this month at least 7 members of ISIS cells were arrested.
On July 7, Bombings struck central Damascus near the Ministry of Tourism and the Four Seasons Hotel, during the visit of Macron the president of France to Syria. Ministry of Interior has attributed the attack to ISIS, the bombing resulted in the killing of one civilian and injury of 36.
On July 8, three attacks happened during the same day and the are believed to have been carried out by ISIS members. Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle used machine guns to target an oil truck in Abrahyah town in eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside, killing the driver.
Similarly, unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle, attacked a checkpoint of the Internal Security Forces near al-Baserah city bridge.
According to North Press Agency, also on July 8 ISIS claimed responsibility for the killing of Rashad Khalaf al-Ghurair in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
On July 15, unknown gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a member of the 72nd Division on the road linking al-Arimah and Manbij in eastern Aleppo countryside, injuring the him.
On July 18, two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire directly on member of the Defence Ministry near al-Awsajli junction in eastern Manbij city.
On July 9, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced its security forces had dismantled several ISIS cells in southern Syria, arresting a senior leader and several members accused of involvement in assassinations and financing terror.
On July 28, Syrian Internal Security Forces and the General Intelligence Service in Aleppo announced the arrest of individuals allegedly affiliated with the ISIS, during a security operation in Aleppo and its surrounding countryside.
An ISIS flag was raised on a school building in al-Zubari, eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside, in an incident that sparked widespread concern among residents.
During July, Two Tunisian families linked to ISIS were repatriated from Roj Camp, which houses families of ISIS members, and returned to Tunisia. Additionally, Tunisian citizen Bilal Chawachi was sentenced to 55 years in prison after being convicted on terrorism-related charges, specifically traveling to Syria and fighting alongside the extremist organization.
Germany sentenced an Iraqi man to life imprisonment and his former wife to nine years and six months in prison after convicting them of enslaving and torturing two Yazidi girls while they were members of ISIS in Syria and Iraq between 2015 and 2017.
Three U.S. citizens pleaded guilty to terror charges, prosecutors said the defendants communicated through encrypted messaging applications between July and November 2025 and planned to travel to Turkey before crossing into Syria to join ISIS.
* Due to the low rate of confirmed ISIS attacks RIC has decided to stop publishing monthly sleeper-cell reports and instead share a bi-annual summary of ISIS activity throughout Syria.