Islamic State kills over 4,000 since defeat in Syrian territory: War Monitor
- In Reports
- 05:48 PM, Jun 29, 2024
- Myind Staff
Islamic State fighters have reportedly killed nearly 4,100 people in Syria since 2019, following the loss of their last stronghold in the country, according to a war monitor.
In 2014, IS seized control of vast areas in Syria and Iraq, declaring a self-styled caliphate and initiating a period of terror that continued until June of that year.
In March 2019, the jihadist group lost its final pockets of Syrian territory to a Kurdish-led military campaign supported by a US-led coalition. Despite this defeat, remnants of the group persist in launching deadly attacks from hideouts in the desert.
According to a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Islamic State fighters have killed approximately 4,100 people through more than 2,550 operations in areas controlled by the regime or the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration since 2019.
According to the Britain-based Observatory, the majority of the victims, comprising soldiers, government loyalists, Kurdish-led fighters, and 627 civilians, have been killed by Islamic State fighters since 2019. Over half of the 4,085 victims lost their lives in Syria's expansive Badia desert, stretching from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border.
The monitor, relying on a network of sources within Syria, reported that the Islamic State group has killed a total of 2,744 people in various areas of the Syrian desert since its formal collapse in 2019.
According to the Observatory, IS fighters have targeted more than 2,500 government loyalists and soldiers in the Badia desert since the collapse of their self-proclaimed caliphate.
The report noted that the region experiences frequent incidents of bombings, ambushes, targeted operations, or surprise attacks by jihadists almost daily.
Regime forces and allied groups conduct periodic security campaigns deep in the desert, with Russian warplanes reportedly carrying out near-daily airstrikes in response to these operations.
Since 2019, the Islamic State has suffered significant losses, including more than 2,000 fighters, including senior leaders, as documented in the report.
A United Nations report from January estimated that IS's combined strength in Iraq and Syria ranged between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters, with the Badia serving as a critical logistics and operational base for the group in Syria.
Since its onset in March 2011, Syria's war has resulted in the deaths of over half a million people and the displacement of millions more, triggered initially by the harsh suppression of anti-government protests in Damascus.
Image source: Arab News
Comments