09.06.25 – 15.06.25
Iran-Israel war
Last Thursday, June 12th, Israel started a bombing campaign on Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, anti-air defenses and top military leaders. The Syrian transitional goverment has no intention of getting involved in the conflict. In response to the Israel attacks, Iran launched ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones that fly over Syrian air space, most of them have been intercepted by Israeli air defense with US support. Transitional goverment sources stated they are not opposed to intercepting Iranian missiles and drones in Syrian air space. Some intercepted drones fell on Syrian soil, one of them allegedly causing a fire at a UN de-escalation point in the territory recently occupied by Israel in Syria, near the Golan hights.
Since then, the conflict has continued with exchanges of long range attacks between Iran and Israel, threatening to spiral into a regional war with very serious consequences for the middle east and the whole world. At the moment, we are following the events closely. Iranian top military leadership was eliminated in those initial attacks, and they are being replaced in haste. Many anti-air defenses of Iran have been neutralized, nuclear facilities destroyed and leading nuclear scientists assassinated.
Israeli operations in Syria
Israeli forces shot and killed a young Syrian man, Muhamad Hamada, and arrested 7 others in the town of Beit Jann, on the outskirts of Damascus. This occurred in the latest raids by Israeli forces, who are continuing operations and expanding the territory they occupy in Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime.
Clashes between SDF and new Syrian army
SDF and the Syrian army’s 66th Division clashed in several areas south-east of Raqqa province on June 9. Syrian media reported that the SDF and 66th Division engaged each other near Madan, Abu Hamad, and al Maghla Bridge in the eastern Raqqa countryside. The new Syrian army sent military reinforcements to its positions in Madan following the fighting, and deems that after those clashes no further escalation took place. There were no reports of casualties.
ISIS reactivation of international networks
ISIS has begun reactivating its sleeper cells in both Syria and Iraq amid growing concerns that foreign fighters are once again traveling to the region to join the group. Intelligence agencies have reportedly tracked a limited number of suspected salafist foreign fighters arriving from Europe to Syria in recent months. However, it remains unclear whether they were recruited directly by ISIS or by other actors.
SDF continue carring out operations against ISIS, with significant arrests of sleeper cells and logistics networks in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.