The situation in Syria remains highly volatile and complex, with various conflicts and tensions continuing to unfold across the country. In northern Syria, Turkish-occupied areas are experiencing rising tensions between mercenary groups over orders to disband and shift control, leading to military mobilizations. Meanwhile, the resurgence of ISIS has been marked by ambushes and attacks on Hezbollah-linked forces and pro-government militias. The international dimension is also in flux, with Ukrainian special forces reportedly targeting Russian military installations in Syria, and US military bases coming under rocket attacks. Amidst these developments, Syria’s internal crisis remains unresolved, as the Assad regime clings to power in a country devastated by war, economic collapse, and sanctions. The situation grows more precarious as Syria becomes a hub for regional drug trafficking and international fatigue sets in over the prolonged conflict.
Tensions Escalate in Northern Syria Over Mercenary Disbandment
Northern Syria, occupied by the Turkish military, is experiencing heightened security and military tensions among Turkish-backed mercenary groups. The conflict is primarily between the “Northern Hawks,” led by Hassan Khairia, and other factions loyal to the Turkish occupation, Kurdish news agency ANHA reported.
The tensions arose after Turkey issued orders to disband the Northern Hawks and transfer control of their sectors to the “border guards and military police,” also Turkish-backed mercenaries. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this move followed the Northern Hawks’ refusal to comply with Turkish directives to engage in reconciliations with Damascus government forces and to facilitate the opening of the Abu al-Zindeen crossing, which links Turkish-occupied areas with those controlled by the Syrian government.
The decision has also been met with resistance from the leader of the military council in Idlib, who called for full mobilization to oppose the disbandment. Meanwhile, large contingents of Northern Hawks mercenaries from occupied Afrin have mobilized towards Nabi Hori, Sheikh Rus, and Aboudan in rural Aleppo to increase their combat readiness.
Tensions continue to rise in Afrin and Idlib, with factions opposing the Turkish decision facing off against those aligned with Turkey’s directives.
ISIS kills five Hezbollah-linked fighters in Syria: war monitor
The Islamic State (ISIS) killed five Hezbollah-affiliated fighters in Syria, a war monitor said on Sunday, in the latest sign of the group’s resurgence, Al-Monitor reported.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five “members of the Syrian Resistance that is affiliated [with] the Lebanese Hezbollah” were ambushed by ISIS cells in the desert area between Ithriya and Khanaser in the central Hama province. SOHR added that an unspecified number of Hezbollah-linked fighters were also injured.
Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian government fighters often refer to themselves as “the resistance.”
SOHR did not specify when the attack occurred.
In another incident, three members of the pro-government National Defense Forces were injured in an attack in the al-Tabni desert area in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province. The perpetrators were “gunmen believed to be of ISIS cells,” according to SOHR.
Why it matters: There have been reports of a possible ISIS resurgence in Syria in 2024. Head of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane told Al-Monitor in April, “I believe that the conditions for an ISIS resurgence that would restore it to its former strength continue to exist.”
Four suspected ISIS members killed in airstrike in Syria
Meanwhile, four people believed to be Islamic State (ISIS) group members were killed on Sunday in an airstrike in northern Syria.
The strike near the city of Raqqa, the former ISIS ‘capital’ was carried out by international coalition forces and supported by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), The New Arab reported.
An SDF military source said the strike was accompanied by clashes with a group believed to be affiliated with IS, resulting in the deaths of four people, including a leader.
Three of them were from Raqqa province and the other was from Deir Az-Zour.
On Friday, US-led international coalition forces killed an ISIS member in a drone attack while he was passing through on a motorcycle in the Al-Shaddadi area, under SDF control in Hasakah province.
The countryside of Raqqa province has in recent days seen widespread SDF raid and arrest campaigns, centred on the towns of Al-Akirshi and Ratla, after increasing attacks on their members in the area.
All those arrested have been accused of affiliation or cooperation with IS.
Ukraine’s HUR Special Forces Target Russian Drone Base in Syria
Special forces from the Khimik group of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) attacked a Russian military base in Syria on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 15, according to a Kyiv Post source in military intelligence.
The operation took place on the southeastern outskirts of Aleppo. Kyiv Post has obtained exclusive footage.
The base targeted by HUR special forces was used by Russian forces to manufacture and test strike UAVs, as well as to produce “camouflaged improvised explosive devices,” whose warheads were stored at the site, HUR said.
In the exclusive video obtained by Kyiv Post, filmed by an intelligence officer, a HUR flag is visible behind a berm at a distance from a garage used as a Russian base. Shortly after, an explosion occurs at the Russian facility, followed by the detonation of ammunition.
Kyiv Post military and explosive experts examined the video and deemed that the explosion was more likely triggered by a rifle shot than an RPG, perhaps striking explosives that HUR claims to have pre-planted inside.
Kyiv Post was not able to independently verify the location or time of the attack, although it appears to have taken place in desert terrain in broad daylight.
At the end of July, Kyiv Post received several exclusive videos and photos showing the continuation of the special operation by HUR units to destroy Russian forces in Syria.
According to Kyiv Post sources in the special service, the Khimik group carried out another complex strike on Russian occupation forces in Syria in late July 2024. This time, the target of the attack was Russian military equipment at the Kuweires airfield, located east of Aleppo.
US military base in Syria targeted by rocket attack
A US military base in northeastern Syria was reportedly hit by a barrage of rockets.
Lebanon’s pro-Iran al-Mayadeen television network stated that the attack occurred at the Kharab al-Jir base in Syria’s Hasakah Province on Sunday.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and details regarding casualties or the extent of damage to the US base remain unclear.
The incident follows a series of strikes by Iraqi resistance forces on US-run military facilities in Iraq and Syria due to Washington’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
ISIS women flee Syrian camp to Turkey, Europe through marriages with jihadist men
Le Monde published a long report explaining that Syria remains devastated and in a state of implosion post-civil war, with the Assad regime clinging to power while international sanctions, regional tensions, and the lack of reconstruction keep the country in a prolonged stalemate.
Since the end of the civil war that began in 2011 during the Arab Spring, Syria remains a country in turmoil, cut off from the world and slowly imploding. The Syrian Diaries, a series in Le Monde, paints a grim picture of a nation devastated not just by ruins and poverty, but by the collapse of its society and the flight of a crushed generation. The Assad regime, propped up by Iran and Russia, holds only partial control over the country, with no means for full restoration or reconstruction.
Iran’s influence, compounded by repeated Israeli strikes, discourages Gulf countries from getting involved, while Western sanctions like the Caesar Act continue to punish the regime for its war crimes. Assad, relying on his nuisance power—such as his role in the regional Captagon drug trade—hopes realpolitik will lift these sanctions. Yet, Syria’s symbolic return to the Arab League has changed nothing, leaving the country in a stalemate. International fatigue grows, with some nations considering returning refugees, but the situation remains perilous. The Syrian ordeal, in its less visible but equally destructive form, continues.