Attacks, Road Blockades and ISIS Raids Strain Syria's Security Efforts in the South

Southern Syria is facing a fresh wave of security problems as gunmen target government forces, tensions persist in Suwayda, and authorities pursue Islamic State cells near Damascus. The events show how hard it is for the Syrian government to keep order across the whole country.

The south is complicated for several reasons. Israeli raids continue along the border, and many Syrians are growing angry at Israeli patrols entering their villages. Last week a Syrian was killed, which led to protests. Israel has also demanded that southern Syria be demilitarized, meaning Syria could deploy only lightly armed Interior Ministry forces there.

On October 25, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that a highway security officer was killed and another wounded when armed men attacked a checkpoint in the Busra al-Sham area of eastern Daraa province. The Internal Security Forces said specialized units responded, exchanged fire and arrested the attackers. Investigations are continuing into the circumstances and motives. SANA said the attack followed an October 13 incident in which three highway security officers died when their patrol was hit on the Salamiyah-Athriya road in eastern Hama province.

Daraa played an important role in the uprising against the Assad regime that began in 2011. It is generally seen as supportive of Damascus, but there were many mysterious killings there between 2018 and 2024, when the former regime ran the province. Some of those may have been local feuds.

In neighboring Suwayda, the mood remains tense. SANA reported that armed groups closed the main highway linking the province to Damascus on Saturday. The road was said to be blocked in both directions at the Um al-Zaytoun checkpoint, which is held by what the agency called a local armed group. Qutaiba Azzam, director of media relations at the Suwayda Media Department, said the groups stopped traffic from passing. About 100 employees were reportedly kept from reaching work earlier in the week, and students had previously been blocked from leaving to sit national exams. Druze authorities reject the government's claims, and they are also angry over remarks by US Envoy Tom Barrack that criticized Suwayda as an area of drug smuggling.

On October 18, Suwayda Governor Mustafa al-Bakour warned of difficult living conditions and worsening security, accusing armed groups of kidnappings, threats and obstructing efforts to resolve the crisis. SANA presents events from the government's viewpoint and describes the factions as outlaw groups. The Druze area is outside government control and has sought varying degrees of independence. Druze also accuse the government of complicity in a massacre of more than 1,000 people in July 2025, so a quick resolution looks unlikely.

Near Damascus, security forces are continuing operations against suspected ISIS cells. Rudaw reported that two Internal Security Forces members were killed and five wounded in an operation in Rankous, about 45 kilometers north of the capital. The forces said the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire. Five suspected ISIS members were reportedly killed and six arrested, and weapons and explosive belts were seized. SANA said the General Intelligence Service took part.

That followed an October 16 announcement that authorities had foiled an alleged ISIS plot against a police patrol in the Damascus countryside, with two arrests and an explosive device seized. Rudaw cited an August 27 report by the Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve, which described fewer ISIS attacks after US forces withdrew in April, while noting that attacks on Syrian government forces continued.

The threats are not necessarily linked, but together they reflect a fragmented security environment. For Israel, instability in Daraa and Suwayda matters because both provinces lie in the wider southern region near the Golan Heights, and it could complicate efforts at predictable border arrangements. The central question is whether Damascus can consolidate security without provoking new confrontations with local communities and armed groups.