US-led International Coalition forces significantly escalated attacks against Iranian-backed militias in October, with heavy artillery bombardment focusing on sites in and around Deir Ezzor city and other areas. The attacks killed two 4th Division officers, as well as unknown others.
Later in the month, a major attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) facility near Ankara, saw Kurdish fighters detonate explosives and open fire on the facility, killing five people and injuring 22 others. In response, Türkiye initiated a wave of suicide drone attacks and airstrikes against PKK-linked and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sites in north-east Syria, striking urban and rural sites across Raqqa and Hasakeh provinces.
Iranian/Coalition Clashes
Iranian-backed militias attempted two attacks on the Conoco gas field base in eastern Deir Ezzor last month, prompting an uptick in US-led Coalition attacks. The attacks killed two officers belonging to the regime’s 4th Division.
ISIS Activity
Following a wave of anti-ISIS operations and arrests by SDF and US-led Coalition forces, ISIS attacks against the SDF fell close to historic lows last month. During the month of October, ISIS cells launched just two armed attacks and one IED blast against SDF patrols in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, killing two soldiers and injuring another two. Regime forces, meanwhile, sustained just one ISIS-affiliated attack in October, when a regime fighter was stabbed to death at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Al-Bukamal.
SDF Activity
There has been relative quiet on frontlines between Turkish/Syrian National Army-held territory and SDF-held territory in recent months. Occasional airstrikes and drone attacks continued to take a toll on front-line forces, such as one that targeted and killed PKK commander Hazal Balgha, along with another individual, when they were driving on the Qamishli-Amouda road in northern Hasakeh. However, a major PKK attack against the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) near Ankara rattled this fragile balance in late October, when fighters detonated an explosive device and opened fire on the facility, killing five people and injuring 22 others. In response, Türkiye initiated a two-day wave of suicide drone attacks and airstrikes against SDF and PKK-linked sites in the north-east, striking a string of villages in the western Tal Abyad countryside and Ain Issa in Raqqa province as well as Qamishli and Al-Qahtaniyah in Hasakeh.
The SDF, backed by US-led Coalition forces, continued a campaign to root out ISIS cells across north-east Syria. Conducting several rounds of raids and arrests across three provinces, the forces detained ISIS elements in Al-Hamrat in Raqqa, Al-Shuhail in Deir Ezzor and within the city of Hasakeh.
Political & Humanitarian Developments
In late October, the Self Administration announced that almost 20,000 returnees reached areas under its control after fleeing Israeli bombardments in Lebanon and the escalating conflict between Hezbollah and invading Israeli forces in the south of the country. The SDF, meanwhile, released members of the rival Kurdish National Council (KNC) after they were held in the group’s detention facilities for several months.
