Syrian Security Officer Killed in ISIS Attack in Deir ez-Zor Countryside
ISIS attack kills Syrian security officer at Deir ez-Zor checkpoint, state media reports. One assailant detonated a bomb; the second was neutralized. SOHR notes a surge in ISIS operations in Syria this year.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A member of Syria’s internal security forces was killed on Friday after two ISIS militants launched a deadly assault on a military checkpoint in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, near the Iraqi border.
According to Syria’s state news agency (SANA), the attack targeted the “al-Siyasiyah” checkpoint in the city of Mayadin. One of the attackers detonated an explosive belt, while the second attempted to storm the post with small arms before being neutralized by security personnel.
Colonel Dhiar al-Shamlan, head of internal security in Deir ez-Zor, said the forces managed to foil “a terrorist attempt by remnants of Daesh in Mayadin.”
Al-Shamlan explained that one assailant detonated himself after approaching the checkpoint, while the second militant, armed with a rifle, attempted to engage the security members.
“The personnel were able to prevent the suicide bomber from causing mass casualties and clashed with the second attacker, ultimately neutralizing both terrorists,” he said.
Despite thwarting the attack, the security chief confirmed that one of his men was killed in the line of duty. “During the confrontation, one fighter from our internal security rose as a martyr while defending his people and his homeland,” al-Shamlan told SANA.
He pledged that Syrian forces would continue pursuing ISIS remnants. “We affirm that we will not allow what remains of these terrorist groups to threaten the safety and stability of our people in Deir ez-Zor,” he declared.
The attack comes amid a steady surge in ISIS activity across Syria.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that since the beginning of 2025, ISIS has carried out 143 operations in Syria. Deir ez-Zor has borne the brunt, witnessing 121 of these attacks. The violence has resulted in the deaths of 28 government and allied security personnel, three ISIS fighters, and ten civilians, with 33 others wounded.
Across all Syrian territories, SOHR recorded 60 fatalities from ISIS operations this year, including 41 fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), eight ISIS members, ten civilians.
The Observatory noted that the pattern demonstrates the group’s expanding reach, warning that ISIS operations are now spreading into new areas inside Syria.
