In cooperation with the local 8th Brigade, the Syrian security forces continue to carry out a military operation against groups of armed factions accused of harboring ISIS members and leaders in the southern governorate of Deraa.

On 31 October, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the security services, in cooperation with local and civil groups, eliminated a number of ISIS terrorists and confiscated a large amount of ammunition during a security operation in the Tariq al-Sad neighborhood, south of Deraa city.

Within the previous three days, local groups affiliated with the hardline organization in the southern city were in a difficult situation after reinforcements from the 8th Brigade of the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) 5th Corps arrived, coinciding with a curfew in the area.

A security source told SANA that the operation is taking place in an organized manner and with excellent cooperation from local and civil groups to eliminate ISIS and restore stability to all neighborhoods of Deraa.

According to reports, the cleansing operation was launched on behalf of calls from locals to rid the area of the brutality of ISIS elements, estimated to be around 75 fighters.

In recent months, a surge of assassinations, kidnappings, and roadside bomb attacks against government officials and former militants and leaders of the armed opposition who had reconciled with the Syrian state, have struck the border governorate with Jordan, resulting in the death and injuries of hundreds of Syrian citizens.

However, the Syrian forces managed to take down a number of the group’s prominent leaders in Jassim city, including Mahmoud Ahmad al-Hallaq.

Similarly, in September, Syrian security forces eliminated the notorious ISIS commanders Abu Qassem al-Aqrabawi and Abu Salem Al-Iraqi in the governorate.

The 8th Brigade participated in the military campaign launched by former fighters in Jassim against the cells of ISIS organization entrenched in the city, which has been on the move since 14 October.

In November 2021, the 8th Brigade joined the Syrian Military Intelligence after it had been affiliated with the Russian-backed 5th Corps. The Brigade allied with local groups in Deraa’s eastern and western countryside.