| 2018 As-Suwayda attacks | |
|---|---|
| Part of the2018 Southern Syria offensive of theSyrian Civil War | |
.svg) Location of As-Suwayda Governorate within Syria | |
| Location | Suwayda Governorate,Syria |
| Date | 25 July 2018 |
Attack type | Suicide bombings, shootings, hostage taking |
| Weapons | Suicide vests,Automatic weapons |
| Deaths | 258 (+63 attackers) |
| Injured | 180 |
| Perpetrator |  Islamic State |
| Defenders |  Syrian Arab Army Men of DignityAl-Jabal Brigade Bayrat Quwat al-Fahad |
The2018 As-Suwayda attacks were a string ofsuicide bombings and mass shooting incidents inSuwayda,Syria on 25 July 2018. At least 258 people were killed and 180 wounded. The attacks were carried out by theIslamic State and largely targeted Syria'sDruze minority.[1][2] A 17-year old Druze girl was beheaded.[3]
The attackers began by assaulting defensive positions in the city. When they depleted their ammunition, they detonated their explosive vests.[4] TheSyrian Arab News Agency reported two separate suicide attacks in Suweida, with security forces killing two other attackers before they could blow themselves up, and arresting another inside Suwaida General Hospital. Groups of militants also attacked areas in theAl-Mushannafnahiyah in a coordinated assault and four villages (Ash-Shbeki,Rami, Ghethet-Hamael andTarba), gaining temporary control of several settlements, slaughtered families in their houses and seizing hostages. Local people gathered and defended their villages with simple weapons and retook the villages without support of governmental forces. A substantial number of Druze militias were involved in driving the ISIL forces back, most notably theMen of Dignity movement and theAl-Jabal Brigade, one of whose sub-commanders (Sheikh Abu Mu'annis Nabil Saymu'a) was killed in course of the fighting. TheSSNP and its armed wing,Eagles of the Whirlwind, also aided the local pro-government defenders, whilst theSyrian Army arrived in the area two days after the combat had ended.[5] An independent Druze militia, called Bayrat Quwat al-Fahad, was also involved in defending against the attacks.[6] According to Enab Baladi, the Syrian Army defended multiple towns, including al-Sharihi and Shabki.[7]
A suicide bombing in a vegetable market in the capital of the province, Al Suwayda, resulted in at least 38 casualties.[4][8] Following the attack, three captured ISIL fighters were publicly hanged by the angry local Druze people in the provincial capital.[9][better source needed]
Initially, the head of the Sweida health authority told the pro-Damascus Sham FM radio some 96 people were killed and 176 wounded in total.[10] Later, the director of health updated the number of deaths and injuries and said that 215 people were killed and 180 others injured in the attacks.[11] TheSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported 258 deaths (142 civilians and 116 government fighters), in addition to 63 ISIL fighters.[12][13][14] Also, between 14-20 and 36 Druze women and children were abducted by ISIL fighters during the raid, and taken to their holdouts in the desert. Afterward some managed to escape while several died in captivity. ISIL executed all the Druze men they captured.[15][16] ISIL executed several Syrian army soldiers and NDF members captured during the raid, posting videos of their executions on the Internet.[9] ISIL had threatened to execute the captured Druze women if the Syrian army didn't stop their offensive against ISIL in the Yarmouk basin in western Daraa province.[17][18][better source needed]
As-Suwayda Governor Amer al-Eshi reported that the city had been secured by evening. The state-run television station,Al-Ikhbariyah TV, reported that theSyrian Air Force has launched a bombing campaign on ISIS-held villages of al-Matouna, Duma, and Tima.[19] On 31 July 2018, in exchange for the release of the Druze women captured by ISIL in the raid in eastern Suweida, the Syrian Army evacuated hundreds of ISIL fighters from the Yarmouk basin in western Daraa to their strongholds in the Badiya region in eastern Syria Desert.[20][21][better source needed]
Many Druze people were very angry with the Syrian Military because of the incompetent security measures in Suwayda province, accusing the Syrian Government of deliberately allowing the attacks so that they can have a casus belli to reimpose stricter government control over the Suwayda province and end the Druze autonomy, especially because the attack was made by ISIL fighters evacuated from Southern Damascus to Eastern Syria Desert in May 2018.[16]
Afterwards, the Syrian government offered a deal to ISIL, that the 30+ captured Druze civilians will be swapped in the prisoner exchange for over 200 ISIL fighters of Jaysh Khaled bin Walid who surrendered in southwestern Daraa on 31 July 2018, however ISIL forces in Badiya region refused the prisoner exchange, and instead requested a large sum of ransom money for the release of the captured Druze civilians, which the Syrian army refused to pay.[22][better source needed] In order to pressure the Syrian government to pay the ransom, ISIL executed one of the male Druze civilians captured in the raid on 2 August, and posted the video of his execution on the internet.[23][better source needed][24][better source needed] In response, the Syrian army threatened ISIL forces in Badiya region that if they did not release the captives, that they would be destroyed in the upcoming military operation in Badiya al Sham region.[22][25][better source needed]
Egypt: Saad el Gamal, chairman of the Committee for Arab Affairs in theEgyptian Parliament, condemned the attacks while suggesting that foreign interference in Syrian internal affairs "offers a cover for terrorists".[26]
Rojava: The YPG released a statement on 4 August condemning the attacks and calling for further actions against IS: "The attack reveals once again the true face of IS and shows clearly that this terrorist group must be destroyed as soon as possible".[27]
