Timeline of the Syrian civil war (2022)
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2022. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war. January. On 1 January, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitor based in the United Kingdom, reported that its activists had documented several Russian and government airstrikes in Northwest Syria. They said three civilians were killed in a Russian airstrike on a building north of Jisr al-Shughur, west of Idlib in Northwestern Syria, in an area controlled by rebels, as part of the on -going Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war, and that the Al-Fath Al-Mubin rebel faction counterattacked with rocket fire on government positions in Jorin area of Hama countryside and around Maarat al-Numan in the southern Idlib countryside. On the same day in territories controlled by the government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Northeastern Syria, according to SOHR, at least 10 Russian airstrikes targeted positions of Islamic State (ISIL) cells in the Al-Rusafa desert, north-east of Raqqa city. A Syrian government military convoy comprising at least 100 soldiers of the Liwa al -Quds militia and the Syrian Army's 5th Corps, reportedly under orders from Russia and accompanied by Russian helicopters, arrived in Palmyra from Deir ez-Zor with tanks and armored vehicles to combat ISIS cells in the Palmyra desert. SOHR said these operations were part of a new Russian large-scale military campaign to respond to increased ISIL activity. On 2 January, five Syrian government soldiers were killed and 20 others were injured after ISIL operatives launched a rocket and artillery attack on a government military vehicle in the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Also on 2 January, according  to SOHR, Turkish forces shelled Fatima village in the Ain Issa countryside in the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate, an area controlled by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), injuring an SDF fighter who died three days later. On 4 January, according to SOHR, a commander of Ahrar al-Sham and his nephew were killed on a bridge near Jindires in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate, in territory controlled by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), by other Ahrar al-Sham members after their car was stopped at a checkpoint, which  led to a gunfight between the militants. On 5 January, as part of an uptick in the on-going 2019-2022 Persian Gulf crisis, the U.S "Green Village" military base, near the town of Mayadin in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate was attacked by Iranian-backed militias, who fired eight rockets at the military base (which houses SDF and Coalition fighters), causing minor damage. Several suspected launch sites were destroyed by U.S forces shortly after the attack. The attack came shortly after the 2nd anniversary of the U.S assassination of an Iranian General in 2020. The same day, continuing on -going Israeli airstrikes on Iranian and government targets in Southern Syria, Israeli tanks fired at Syrian army positions in the town of Quneitra near the Golan Heights, in the Daraa Governorate, setting fire to a building. On the same day, as part of the upsurge since 2019 of the on-going Daraa insurgency in Southern Syria, a Syrian soldier of the 4th Division, a member of a "reconciled" rebel militia (i.e. an opposition fighting group absorbed into the government forces) accused of drug trafficking, was shot dead by gunmen in the village of Saham al-Jawlan in the western Daraa  countryside, according to SOHR. On 6 January, in the continuing Russian-ISIL conflict in Northeastern Syria, SOHR reported that three Syrian soldiers were killed and 2 others were wounded in an ISIS ambush in the Al-Rusafa desert northeast of Raqqa city. In response, the Russian airforce launched several airstrikes on ISIS positions, causing an unknown number of casualties. On 8 January, three Turkish soldiers were killed after an IED was detonated under their vehicle on the Syrian-Turkish border near the town of Tell Abyad. Turkish officials announced the IED was "planted by terrorists", likely referring to Kurdish People 's Defense Units (YPG) forces. On 10 January, as the Daraa insurgency intensified, SOHR reported that two soldiers of the Syrian Army's Military Security were shot dead by gunmen in the outskirts of Al-Sanamayn city, in Daraa Governorate in southern Syria. On the same day in the Northeast, ISIL claimed to have abducted and then executed a 'spy' who was working with SDF forces in the town of Hajin. On 11 January, two civilians were executed by Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the town of Kafrsajna in Maarrat al-Nu'man District, Idlib, in a part  of Northwestern Syria controlled by the HTS-dominated Syrian Salvation Government, after reportedly confessing to collaborating with Syrian government forces. On the same day in Northeastern Syria, ISIL operatives assassinated a doctor in the town of Al-Tayyana for allegedly working with Kurdish forces. On 12 January, ISIL militants, under cover of foggy weather, launched a minor offensive on Syrian army positions in the town of Al-Kashma, Deir ez-Zor, killing three Syrian soldiers and wounding seven others. On 13 January, Anwar Raslan, a government intelligence officer, was found guilty by a German court after a 108 day trial  to have overseen the murder of at least 27 people, torture of at least 4,000, two cases of rape and various other crimes at the Branch 251 prison in Damascus. He was tried under the legal principle of universal jurisdiction and sentenced to life imprisonment. Also on 13 January, SOHR reported that ISIL operatives attacked positions of pro-government militias in the desert near the city of Abu Kamal, killing five National Defence Forces (NDF) militiamen and wounding 14 others. Eleven ISIL militants were reportedly also killed in government and Russian airstrikes on ISIL positions in the Syrian desert. On  the same day, an SNA fighter was killed in a car bomb explosion in the city of Azaz, northern Syria. A suicide bombing also took place in the city of Afrin near an opposition military base, wounding several people. Three Syrian government soldiers were killed by opposition forces during an infiltration attempt on the rebel-held village of Sfuhen, Idlib, according to SOHR. On 16 January, according to SOHR, 20 ex-ISIL families, totalling 217 people, were repatriated out of the Al-Hawl camp to several villages in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate in Northeastern Syria. On the same day , according to SOHR, a military commander of the Syrian 4th Armoured Division was killed in an IED blast in Daraa city. On 17 January, the SOHR reported that forces of the SDF and Coalition raided an ISIL hideout in the Hawy Al-Hawayej area in the eastern Deir ez-zor countryside, killing an ISIL commander and confiscating weapons. On 18 January in Northeastern Syria, Russian jets launched a series of airstrikes on ISIL positions in the eastern Homs desert, Maadan desert in the Raqqah countryside, and Deir Ezzor desert, killing several ISIL fighters and destroying several vehicles, according to SOHR . On 19 January, SOHR reported that eight ISIL operatives were killed in a series of Russian airstrikes on IS-held caves and hideouts in the Deir Ez-zor and Al-Raqqa deserts. On 19 January, the trial of Alaa Mousa began in Germany. He is a Syrian medical doctor accused of torturing detainees for the government in Syria. On 20 January, SOHR reported a civilian killed after SDF forces launched a rocket attack on the SNA-held village of Maryamayn, in the Afrin countryside. Rockets were also fired from Kurdish-held territories targeting the SNA-held city of Afrin, reportedly  killing three civilians and wounding 15 others. A Turkish drone targeted SDF forces in AANES-controlled Tell Jemaah killing an SDF fighter and wounding 2 others. Later that day, as part of ISIL resurgence on the Syria/Iraq border, the 3rd Battle of al-Hasakah began, after ISIS forces launched a large-scale attack aimed at freeing incarcerated ISIL fighters from a prison in the city of Al-Hasakah. On 21 January, SOHR reported that two fighters of the Tell Tamer Military Council (which is allied to AANES and the SDF) were killed after a Turkish drone strike on their  positions on a road near Twina village north of Al-Hasakah city. On 22 January, two fighters of the SNA were killed in an infiltration attempt on the SDF-controlled Al-Mushayrifah and Jahbal villages near the town of Ayn Issa. On the same day, SOHR reported, Russian or Syrian warplanes killed 73 civilians in a series of airstrikes on the settlements of Khisham, Tabiyah, Jazirah and Al-Bulil, in opposition-controlled parts of Deir Ezzor. On 24 January, according to SOHR, two Iranian-backed militiamen were killed in a landmine explosion near the town of Nebl in the northern  Aleppo countryside. On 26 January, the SOHR reported that a commander of HTS was blown up and killed whilst attempting to plant a landmine on the frontlines near the town of Darat Izza. On the same day, IS claimed responsibility for abducting and beheading an SDF fighter south of Raqqa city. On 27 January, forces of the Jordanian army uncovered a drug-smuggling operation from Syria to Jordan, started after a Jordanian army officer was killed by drug smugglers from Syria earlier in January. Clashes broke out between the drug smugglers and the Jordanian army after the operation was thwarted . 27 drug smugglers were killed by the Jordanian army. On 28 January, SOHR reported that two fighters of the pro-Assad Al-Qatarji militia were found dead along the bank of the Euphrates River after being killed by unknown gunmen in al-Bolil village, where they were stationed. On 29 January, unknown gunmen, suspected to by ISIL operatives, killed four Syrian soldiers as they slept at their outpost in the settlement of Bakras Tahtani in the Deir ez-Zor countryside. This was after a similar attack was carried out in neighbouring Iraq. On 30 January, a commander of the Turkish -backed Al-Hamza Division was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Al-Bab. During the early hours of 31 January, Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes against alleged Hezbollah targets near the Syrian capital, Damascus, causing material damage only. On 31 January, the SDF said that a prison overrun by ISIL in northeastern Syria was now fully under its control. February. On 1 February, three fighters of the Liwa al-Quds militia were killed and two others were wounded after ISIL militants attacked their positions in the al-Masrib desert in the western Deir ez-Zor countryside . The wounded fighters were taken to a Syrian military hospital in Deir ez-Zor city for treatment. On the same day, a reconciled rebel was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the town of Muzayrib, Daraa. On 2 February, SOHR reported that a Turkish drone bombed a power station in the city of Al-Malikiyah killing 4 people. On the same day, 8 civilians were killed and 29 others were wounded after several rockets were fired targeting the Turkish-held city of al-Bab. Later in the day, a Turkish soldier was killed after SDF forces fired artillery at Turkish  army positions on the Syrian-Turkish border. Furthermore, 3 Syrian soldiers were killed after Turkish forces bombarded several Syrian army positions on the western Aleppo frontline. On 3 February, United States President Joe Biden announced that U.S. military forces successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation in northwest Syria, resulting in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. A senior White House official stated to Reuters that al-Qurashi had exploded a bomb which killed himself and 12 more people, including members of his family, during the Joint Special Operations Command operation. A fighter of Hayat Tahrir  al-Sham was also killed in a brief shootout with U.S forces after he noticed the raid taking place. On the same day, three fighters of the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) militia were killed after a Turkish drone bombed their positions in the village of Kharza, near Al-Darbasiyah. Furthermore, 3 commanders of the Liwa al-Shamal brigade were killed in an IED explosion in Beir Maghar village near Jarablus city. On 5 February, SOHR reported that an SDF fighter was killed and another was wounded after an IED exploded targeting an SDF military base in the Jarn  Aswad village west of Tell Abyad. On 7 February, a draft agreement between Russia and Belarus revealed that 200 Belarusian troops were to be deployed to Syria alongside Russian troops, under Russian operational command. The document, which was endorsed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, said the Belarusian troops were to supplement Russian soldiers in providing "humanitarian assistance" to populations outside combat zones. Also on 7 February, SOHR reported that two Syrian government soldiers were killed by fighters of Al-Fatah al-Mubin during a sniping operation conducted on the Idlib frontlines. In the early morning of February 9, Israeli  warplanes launched airstrikes, targeting radar and anti-aircraft batteries near Damascus. The attack killed a Syrian army lieutenant and wounded 5 others. Later in the day, SOHR reported that Syrian forces destroyed a SNA technical with a rocket at the Abu Al-Zandin crossing, east of al-Bab city, killing one SNA fighter. Also on February 9, ISIL fighters attacked an SDF military post Al-Shuhail desert, east of Deir Ezzor, killing 5 fighters of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council. IS militants also infiltrated an SDF military post in Jazra Al-Bushms under the cover of a dust storm , killing 4 SDF fighters with silenced weapons. One IS fighter was also killed in the attack. This kind of sneak attack is the 3rd such attack committed by IS in Iraq and Syria since early January. On 10 February, dozens of people in the mainly Druze city of As-Suwayda in southern Syria took to the streets protesting against corruption and worsening living standard under slogans including "We want to live with dignity" and "There is nothing left for the poor", with some protestors carrying the Druze community flag, following a week of sporadic demonstrations in the surrounding countryside. On  Friday 11 February, the protests had grown to the hundreds, with hundreds of government security forces entering the city in response. Also on 10 February, ISIL operatives ambushed a Syrian military convoy in the eastern Homs desert, killing three Syrian soldiers including a major general. In response to the attack, Russian warplanes launched several airstrikes targeting positions and hideouts of ISIL cells in the Syrian desert, reportedly killing nine ISIL fighters. SOHR reported that the airstrikes continued the following day, with a total of seven ISIL fighters were killed after Russian warplanes launched three airstrike attacks on their hideouts in  the Syrian desert. On 12 February, six civilians were killed after Syrian government artillery targeted the rebel-held village of Maaret Elnaasan, in the Idlib countryside. On 13 February, SOHR reported that two fighters of the SDF was killed and one was wounded after Turkish forces launched a rocket attack on the village of Maaliq, near the town Ain Issa. On the same day, the SOHR reported that as part of a crackdown on Al-Qaeda linked militants in the Idlib Governorate, HTS had arrested at least 250 militants of Hurras ad-Din, some of whom were reportedly of non -Syrian nationalities. On 15 February, an IED explosion took place, targeting a Syrian military convoy in the Syrian capital of Damascus near Umayyad Square, killing one Syrian soldier and wounding 11 others. On the same day, at least three civilians were blown up and killed in a rocket attack on the city of Azaz. The same day, Russian news agency Interfax reported that, as part of a surge in Russian military activity due to the intensification of the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, Russia deployed MiG-31K fighter jets with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and long-range Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bombers  to its Hmeimim air base on Syria'a Mediterranean coast. On the same day, two Syrian soldiers were killed and 9 others were wounded after opposition factions shelled several villages in the Idlib governorate. A civilian was also injured in the shelling. On 16 February, a Pro-Assad, Iranian-backed militiaman was killed by an ISIL-planted landmine in the Uqayribat desert in the eastern Hama countryside, as reported by the SOHR. On the same day, the town of Al-Dana, Idlib, was bombed by Syrian army artillery, killing 3 civilians. Furthermore, following increasing Russian airstrikes on positions of IS, the  SOHR confirmed that 6 IS fighters had been killed in Russian airstrikes in the desert areas of the Aleppo-Hama-Al-Raqqah triangle. On 17 February, following Syrian army shelling on opposition-held town of Al-Dana the day prior, skirmishes broke out between opposition and Syrian government forces on the nearby Idlib frontline, near the town of Darat Izza, leaving one opposition fighter and one Syrian soldier dead. On the same day, a Car bomb exploded in the city of al-Bab, killing one civilian. Furthermore, a Syrian Arab Air Force helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing  due to technical failures. The helicopter crashed in a mountainous area of Latakia, killing two of the crew and injuring 4 others. On 18 February, another car bomb explosion took place in the city of al-Bab, killing a commander of Suqour al-Sham, as reported by the SOHR. On the same day, it was also reported that a execution of an Imam took place in Darkush, Idlib, by HTS for allegedly working with the Syrian government. On 19 February, as part of the ongoing Daraa insurgency, the SOHR documented the deaths of 2 Syrian soldiers after being shot dead  by unknown gunmen near the roundabout in the city of Al-Shaykh Maskin. On the same day, a fighter of Liwa al-Shamal was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the village of Tokhar, Aleppo. Also, the village of Hezwan, near al-Bab, was shelled by Syrian forces, causing material damage. On 20 February, the SOHR documented an ISIL attack on a Syrian army post in the Deir ez-Zor desert that resulted in the deaths of 2 Syrian soldiers. On the same day, 3 Syrian soldiers were killed after a landmine, planted by suspected ISIL operatives, exploded underneath their  vehicle in the village of Jabal al-Omar. The SOHR also reported that a Syrian soldier was killed by opposition factions on the Miznaz frontline, in the western Aleppo countryside. On 21 February, the SOHR documented that 5 militiamen of the Pro-Assad Baqir Brigade were killed after their bus drove over a landmine planted by suspected IS operatives in the Itheriya desert near the city of Raqqa. On 22 February, one person was killed after a car bomb exploded in the opposition-held city of Azaz, northern Syria. On the same day, it was documented by the SOHR that  a fighter of the Al-Mubin operations room was killed on the Kurd Mountains frontline by Syrian army shelling. Furthermore, 3 people were killed in a hospital fire in the city of Aleppo. On 23 February, Israeli forces launched missiles targeting Syrian positions in Quneitra, causing material damage only. On the same day, a former commander of ISIS, by the name of Kamal Hamid al-Jaouni, was shot dead by unknown gunmen near the town of Al-Shajara. Two people were also killed in an explosion in the al-Hosyniyah area of Rif Dimashq. On 24 February, 6 Syrian soldiers  were killed after Israel launched airstrikes targeting Syrian army positions near Damascus. On 25 February, three SDF fighters were killed by suspected IS operatives near Hajin. On 27 February, the SOHR documented the deaths of 2 people and the injury of two others after Syrian artillery targeted the village of Afs, in Idlib. March. On 3 March, a fighter of the SDF was shot dead by Islamic State (IS) operatives in the town of Abu Hamam, in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. On 4 March, 3 Syrian Army soldiers were killed after suspected IS gunmen opened fire on their military  vehicle in the area of Sabkha Al-Malah district east of Palmyra. On the same day, the Jordanian army announced they had killed a suspected smuggler on the Syria-Jordan border. On 6 March, 13 Syrian soldiers were killed and 18 others were wounded after a military bus was targeted by IS militants in the Syrian desert, near Palmyra. On 7 March, 2 Syrian civilians were killed by an Israeli missile attack on a Syrian military position near Damascus according to the Syrian Ministry of Defense. Iran later announced that two IRGC colonels, Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saeednejad, had been  killed in the attack and that “Undoubtedly, the Zionist regime will pay for this crime”. On 10 March, 5 Liwa al-Quds militiamen were killed and 7 others were injured in a landmine explosion in the Jabal al-Amour area in the Palmyra desert. On 11 March, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would accept volunteers from the Middle East, including Syria, to fight on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Syrian volunteers 'Murderers'. It was also reported that some Syrian soldiers of the Syrian army's Tiger Forces were in the process of joining the  Wagner Group to fight alongside Russia in the war. It was later reported that over 40,000 Syrian Army soldiers and militiamen had signed up to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Russian military personnel in Syria had had accepted over 22,000 candidacies from Syrian fighters as of March 15. The SOHR reported that Syrian fighters would receive a salary of 1,000 Euros per month. On 15 March, 2 Syrian soldiers of the General Intelligence Directorate were killed and others were wounded in a skirmish with gunmen in the town of Jasim, in the Daraa countryside. 3 other soldiers later died of  their wounds. On 17 March, the head of the Jasim town council was shot dead by unknown gunmen just outside the town of Jasim, in the Daraa countryside. On 18 March, a reconciled rebel was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the town of Al-Karak, Daraa. On 19 March, an SDF fighter was found dead in the village of Swidan Jazira, in the Deir ez-zour countryside, after being kidnapped by suspected IS militants the day before. On 21 March, a fighter of the Al-Hamza Division was shot dead in the village of Aziziyah, near Ras al-Ayn , during an internal dispute over smuggling. On 24 March, a fighter of HTS was killed and another was injured after Syrian army artillery targeted their positions in the town of Taqad in the western Aleppo countryside. On the same day, the mayor of Al-Sanamayn municipality was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the northern Daraa countryside. On 26 March, a fighter of Al-Fatah al-Mubin was killed by a Syrian army sniper on the Kafr Ama frontline, in the western Aleppo countryside. On the same day, a fighter of the Syrian National Army was also shot dead by  a Kurdish sniper in the village of Ablah, near Azaz. On 27 March, a Syrian soldier was shot and killed by opposition forces in the village of Dara al-Kabira on the southern Idlib frontline. On 28 March, SDF forces, backed up by Coalition helicopters, raided a house in the Al-Litwah neighbourhood in the town of Diban, killing a suspected ISIL militant who refused to surrender to SDF forces. The house was destroyed by SDF forces after the raid. On the same day, a fighter of the Levant Front was killed in an IED explosion in the village of  Ranin, near Suluk. On 29 March, two SDF fighters were found dead two days after being abducted by suspected ISIS militants from a military checkpoint at the Al-Safafnna water station, in the eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside. On the same day, a military doctor of the Syrian Army's 8th Brigade was blown up and killed in an IED explosion in the town of Mahajjah, Daraa. On the same day, 4 people including an ISIS fighter were killed after a small clash took place between suspected ISIS gunmen and SDF forces at the Al-Hawl refugee camp. Furthermore, it  was documented that throughout the month of March, at least 9 ISIS militants had been killed in Russian airstrikes on IS-held positions in the Syrian desert. On 30 March, 2 Syrian soldiers were killed and another 2 were wounded after being shot by unknown gunmen on the Da'il-Daraa highway in the Daraa countryside. April. On 1 April, two fighters of Ahrar al-Sham and a fighter of the Levant Front were killed during internal clashes in the village of Awlan, near al-Bab. On the same day, a member of the Kurdish Self-Defense Forces was killed and  2 others were injured after a Turkish drone destroyed their vehicle near Al-Qahtaniyah. On 2 April, a fighter of HTS was killed and 3 others were wounded after a skirmish broke out with SAA forces on al-Fatera village frontline, in the southern Idlib countryside. On 3 April, two Iranian-backed Pro-Assad militiamen were killed and 8 others were injured after Islamic State fighters attacked the militiamen at a fuel station on the eastern outskirts of Al-Sukhnah, in the eastern part of the Homs Governorate. On 4 April, as part of the Daraa insurgency, a soldier of  the Syrian Army's 10th Division was shot dead and another was injured by unknown gunmen in the town of Abtaa, Daraa. On 5 April, one SDF operative was killed and two others were wounded after suspected ISIS gunmen opened fire on SDF forces in the city of Hajin, but then escaped on a motorcycle. On the same day, a Syrian soldier was shot dead and another was injured by unknown gunmen in the city of Al-Quriyah, in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. On 6 April, in the early hours of the morning, 7 fighters of the Levant Front , including a commander, were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a military checkpoint on the road between Azaz and the Bab Al-Salama border crossing with Turkey. One of the unidentified gunmen was also killed in the clash. On the same day, a Pro-Assad militiaman was killed and 3 others were wounded after ISIL insurgents attacked a military outpost near the Al-Kharata oil field in the Syrian desert. On 7 April, a Syrian soldier was shot dead by unknown gunmen the Al-Jiza- Al-Kahil road, east of Daraa. On 8 April, a member of the  NDF militia was killed in an internal dispute in the city of Deir ez-Zor. On 9 April, two Syrian soldiers, including a captain, were killed in the village of Dadikh on the Idlib frontline, after HTS forces launched a sniping operation in the area. On the same day, a fighter of the SDF was killed and two others were injured after a Turkish drone targeted an SDF checkpoint in Tel Kabz village near Al-Dirbasiyah on the Syria-Turkey border. On 12 April, an ex-Asayish member was burnt alive in a car after being kidnapped by ISIS operatives  in the town of al-Sabhah, east of Deir ez-Zor. On 13 April, a soldier of the Syrian Army's Internal Security Division was shot dead by unknown gunmen in al-Masifra town in the Daraa countryside. On 14 April, a fighter of the Sham Legion was killed and another was wounded after Kurdish forces fired a missile at a military vehicle on the Merimin frontline near Azaz. Furthermore, 17 ISIS militants were killed in several Russian airstrikes targeting ISIS hideouts and positions in the Syrian desert. On 15 April, during the early hours of the morning, Israeli jets  carried out airstrikes on several buildings near Damascus, causing material damage only. On the same day, a militant of Ansar al-Islam blew himself up in a suicide attack aimed at destroying Syrian army positions near the village of Sirmaniyah, Hama. One Syrian soldier was killed and 4 others were wounded in the attack. On 16 April, two SDF fighters were shot dead in the al-Jasym countryside, north of Deir ez-Zor, by ISIS gunmen who were riding a motorbike. On 17 April, Islamic State spokesman, Abu Umar al-Mujahid, announced the beginning of the "Vengeance for two Sheikhs