The Islamic State controlled a huge expanse of territory in Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017. Then it was essentially driven out of both, but this year it has been resurgent.
“Oil workers killed in Islamic State attack in Syria,” Al-Monitor, December 3, 2021:
Several oil workers were killed by the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria today.
IS fighters ambushed two buses carrying the workers back from work in the al-Kharata oil field in the southwest of the Deir ez-Zor province. Ten were killed and another was injured, Syria’s official news outlet SANA reported.
…The Islamic State is particularly active in Deir ez-Zor, and killed two Iranian military advisers there in June. The SDF controls eastern Deir ez-Zor, while the Syrian government controls the west.
Two young men were also injured when a mine left by IS exploded in the western city of Homs today, according to SANA….
