In the fourth quarter of 2025, operations against ISIL members were carried out1082 and weapons depots destroyed.1083 ISIL reportedly claimed responsibility for the assassination of a prominent Shia cleric, who was killed on 1 May 20261084 in a bomb attack targeting his vehicle in the Sayyida Zainab district south of Damascus.1085 In 2025, Israeli forces conducted several airstrikes in Rural Damascus.1086 In November, in a raid and airstrikes on the town of Beit Jinn, about 13 people1087 were reportedly killed and 25 injured.1088 14 extrajudicial killings were reportedly conducted by Israel in December.1089 Also in December 2025, 12 people accused of having committed violations during the Assad era were detained by Syrian government forces.1090 In January 2026, several people, among them at least one individual allegedly linked to the former Assad regime, were detained.1091 In March 2026, the impact of the Israel-Iran war through fallen debris from Iranian missiles and UAV intercepted by Israel was reported.1092 Unidentified armed men were responsible for the killing of (predominantly) Druze and Alawites throughout the reporting period.1093
- 1082
Hürriyet Daily News, Syria says ISIL leader captured in Damascus countryside, 25 December 2025, url; Al-Ahmad, S. and Franjieh, S., Will Syria join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS?, MEI, 27 October 2025, url
- 1083
US, CENTCOM, U.S., Syrian Forces Locate and Destroy ISIS Weapons Caches in Southern Syria, 30 November 2025, url; Lister, C, Syria Weekly: October 28 - November 11, Syria Weekly, 11 November 2025, url
- 1084
National (The), Grenade attack kills Syrian cleric near Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus, 1 May 2026, url; AP, Shiite cleric killed in grenade attack near Syrian capital of Damascus, 1 May 2026, url
- 1085
New Arab (The), Islamic State claims responsibility for assassination of Shia cleric in Syria, 8 May 2026, url
- 1086
SNHR, The Fifteenth Annual Report on Human Rights Situation in Syria 2025, 26 March 2026, url, p. 13
- 1087
International Crisis Group, Crisis Watch – Syria: November 2025, n.d., url
- 1088
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/61/62, 12 March 2026, url, para 129; Security Council Report, December 2025 Monthly Forecast: Syria, 30 November 2025, url
- 1089
SNHR, The Death of 3666 Individuals Including 328 Children and 312 Women, and 32 Deaths due to Torture Recorded in the year 2025 in Syria, 1 January 2026, url, pp. 8-9
- 1090
SNHR, At least 1,108 Cases of Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Recorded in 2025, of which 52 were Recorded in December, 3 January 2026, url, p. 11
- 1091
Etana Syria, Brief: Israeli operations continue in south-west Syria, 3 February 2026, url
- 1092
SOHR, Believed to be Iranian: Missile remnants fall in Rif Dimashq, 23 March 2026, url; Etana Syria, Brief: Impact of regional conflict on south Syria, 10 March 2026, url
- 1093
Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Country of Origin Information Report on Syria, 30 January 2026, url, pp. 95, 104; Lister, C., Syria Weekly: November 11-18, 2025, Syria Weekly, 18 November 2025, url; Lister, C., Syria Weekly: October 28 - November 11, Syria Weekly, 11 November 2025, url; Lister, C., Syria Weekly: October 21-28, Syria Weekly, 28 October 2025, url