Damascus, Syria – A senior military source in Syria’s Ministry of Defense has warned that the Islamic State (ISIS) is preparing to launch a wide-scale military offensive in multiple Syrian cities, with religious sites among the reported targets.
Speaking anonymously to Asharq al-Awsat, the official said Syrian intelligence had obtained information about an imminent ISIS plan aimed at seizing several neighborhoods in key urban centers simultaneously, with operations expected to begin from the central city of Homs.
“The tactical objectives of the attack include places of worship and religious shrines, aiming to embarrass the Syrian government and portray the country as insecure,” the source said.
He added that the group is now adopting a new strategy: infiltrating cities from the desert and sparsely populated regions in Syria’s Badia, leveraging gaps in security. Authorities are reportedly working to isolate the group from its previous support base.
Damascus Church Bombing Tied to ISIS
On Tuesday, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced it had dismantled a terror cell allegedly responsible for the June 9 suicide bombing at St. Elias Church in the al-Dweilaa neighborhood of Damascus. While ISIS has not officially claimed responsibility, Syrian authorities say the attackers were affiliated with the group.
Related: Patriarch John X of Antioch Holds Syrian Government Responsible for Mar Elias Church Attack
Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din Baba said the cell was uncovered in a raid conducted in the Damascus countryside in coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate. Authorities reportedly seized weapons, explosives, and arrested all cell members during the operation.
According to Baba, one of those detained led investigators to others, including the group’s alleged leader, Muhammad Abd al-Ilah al-Jumaili, nicknamed “Abu Imad al-Jumaili.” He is a Syrian national from the al-Hajar al-Aswad district and was known within ISIS ranks as the “Wali of the Desert.”
The ministry also revealed that the suicide bomber who attacked the church and another would-be attacker arrested en route to the Sayyida Zainab shrine had both infiltrated Damascus from the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria via the Syrian desert, with logistical support from al-Jumaili. Neither of the attackers was Syrian, the statement noted.
SDF Rejects Syrian Claims About Al-Hol Camp
In response, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denied claims made by Damascus that attackers emerged from Al-Hol camp, which houses families of former ISIS fighters. In a statement on their website, the SDF said, “The information provided by the Syrian Interior Ministry is inaccurate and not based on any field reality.”
The group clarified that no departures from Al-Hol occurred recently, except for officially coordinated returns of Syrian citizens. It also noted that the camp, under SDF control, does not house foreign fighters capable of carrying out such operations, but rather their families, predominantly women and children.
Read more: Syria’s Al-Hol Camp to Release 43 ISIS-Linked Families in Coordination with UN
Additionally, the SDF emphasized that Iraqis leaving the camp were transferred under official agreements with the Iraqi government to the al-Jadaa camp inside Iraq.
The new warnings of an ISIS resurgence come amid heightened concern about the group’s ability to regroup in Syria’s desert regions and exploit ongoing instability. Analysts say that while the group no longer controls territory as it once did during its peak in 2014–2015, it continues to pose a significant asymmetric threat.
