Over 4,000 killed by Islamic State since territorial defeat in Syria

BEIRUT,— Since the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) lost its final stronghold in Syria in 2019, the jihadist group has killed nearly 4,100 people in the country, according to a report by a war monitor released on Saturday.

IS seized control of vast areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014, declaring a caliphate and initiating a period of terror in June of that year. Although the group was defeated in March 2019 by a Kurdish-led military campaign supported by a US-led coalition, its fighters have continued to carry out lethal attacks from desert hideouts.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that since 2019, IS fighters have killed approximately 4,100 people in over 2,550 operations within territories controlled by the regime and the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration. Most of the casualties were soldiers, government loyalists, and Kurdish-led fighters, with the death toll also including 627 civilians.

Over half of these 4,100 victims were killed in Syria’s vast Badia desert, stretching from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border. The Observatory detailed that “2,744 people have been killed by the IS group since its formal collapse in 2019, in various areas of the Syrian desert.” This figure includes more than 2,500 government loyalists and soldiers.

The report highlighted the ongoing threat posed by Islamic State, noting, “Hardly a day goes by without bombings, ambushes, targeted operations or surprise attacks” in the region. These attacks are frequently met with security campaigns by regime forces and allied groups, with Russian warplanes conducting near-daily strikes in the desert.

Despite significant losses, including over 2,000 fighters and key leaders since 2019, IS remains active. A United Nations report from January estimated the group’s combined strength in Iraq and Syria to be between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters, with the Badia serving as a critical logistics and operations hub.

The broader conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011 with the government’s harsh crackdown on anti-government protests, has resulted in over half a million deaths and displaced millions more.