US Central Command said on November 4 evening that “Since August 29, in partnership with security forces in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) conducted 95 Defeat ISIS (D-ISIS) operations, some of which included unilateral strikes in Syria.”

These operations resulted in 163 terrorists killed and 33 captured, including over 30 senior and mid-level ISIS leaders,” adding: “These successful operations resulted in the seizure of significant enemy materiel that could aid in future disruptions. Sustained pressure on ISIS leaders has constrained their ability to operate and to plan attacks.”

General Michael Eric Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said, “Alongside our coalition and Iraqi partners, we will continue to aggressively pursue these terrorists and disrupt their capability to conduct operations against U.S. interests, as well as those of our allies and partners.”

On October 30, U.S. Central Command announced that it had carried out airstrikes on several ISIS camps in Syria on the evening of October 28, confirming that the strikes had killed 35 ISIS fighters.

It had previously conducted airstrikes on ISIS camps in Syria on October 12. On September 29, Central Command also announced that “37 terrorists, including senior ISIS and Hurras al-Din leaders, were eliminated in two air operations in Syria.” While the public statement did not identify specific locations, it was likely referring to regime-controlled central Badia.

In a subsequent issue of its Al-Naba newsletter, ISIS acknowledged that it had suffered casualties from the recent US airstrikes, including images of several of its fighters who were killed. An accompanying Al-Naba editorial portrayed the US strikes as if they had been carried out in coordination with Iran, although local statistics do not align with the claim in the context of ISIS’s surge in November.

The following incidents have been reported in the past week:

At least nine Syrian soldiers and a civilian driver were killed and several others were wounded in a complex ISIS ambush in the desert near Rusafa, east of Raqqa, on October 29. According to local reports, ISIS fighters first attacked several small federal regime checkpoints on the main road between Shuwaynan and al-Rusafa, then took up firing positions to fire on approaching vehicles, including two military trucks.

Two Syrian soldiers were killed and another was wounded when ISIS attacked their vehicle while they were driving between Mahan and Al-Quria in eastern Deir Ezzor on November 2.

 

 One Syrian soldier was killed in an ISIS ambush near Al-Sukhna on October 30.

One Syrian soldier was shot dead by suspected ISIS in Mahqana near Al-Mayadeen on November 2.

The head of the local council in Al-Izba in northern Deir Ezzor, known as Khaled Abu Kazem, was killed by ISIS on November 4. His wife and child were wounded in the attack.

One man, who worked as an oil tanker driver for the Qaterji company, was shot dead by a suspected ISIS fighter in the Raqqa countryside on November 3.

Two Syrian soldiers were wounded when ISIS militants carried out a rapid raid on their positions near the Al-Thawra oil field south of Al-Tabqa on October 29.

ISIS militants raided a regime checkpoint guarded by the Al-Baqir militia near Al-Bukamal late on November 1, sparking heavy clashes that resulted in no casualties.

On November 3, ISIS militants ambushed a convoy of five oil tankers affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the main road between Raqqa and Hasakah, damaging several of them but there were no casualties.

 

ISIS militants ambushed an oil tanker affiliated with the SDF that was passing through Al-Busayrah in Deir Ezzor on October 30.

Residents living near the Al-Azraq oil field in northeastern Deir ez-Zor have discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of five unidentified men who were likely kidnapped and executed by ISIS militants several years ago.

On November 3, Russian fighter jets carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS positions in the deserts of Homs (around Al-Sukhna and Palmyra), Raqqa (around Al-Rusafa) and Deir ez-Zor (around Al-Bishri), but local media reported no casualties. On November 5, Russian fighter jets carried out more strikes, around the same areas.