Islamic State: Who Are They and What Is Their Role in Recent Damascus Bombings?
By Michael Georgy
DUBAI, July 10, (Reuters) - Preliminary investigations into the cell behind Tuesday's bombings in Damascus, near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, indicate it was affiliated with Islamic State, a senior Syrian security official said.
Two bombs exploded near the hotel, wounding 18 people and overshadowing Macron's visit — the first by a European Union head of state since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
Islamic State: Background, Operations, and Recent Attacks
What is Islamic State?
The Sunni Muslim group emerged in Iraq and Syria and quickly created a "caliphate" - a form of Islamic government - declaring its rule over all Muslims and largely displacing al Qaeda.
At the height of its power, from 2014-2017, it held swathes of the two countries, ruling over millions of people. It had a base 30-minutes drive from Baghdad, and also held the city of Sirte on Libya's Mediterranean coast.
On its territory, Islamic State sought to rule like a centralised government, strictly imposing its interpretation of Islamic Sharia law and deploying shocking brutality, including public executions and torture.
Its fighters also carried out, or inspired, attacks in dozens of cities around the world.
The caliphate eventually collapsed in Iraq and in Syria after a sustained military campaign by a U.S.-led coalition.
Where Does It Operate Now?
After being ousted from its bases in the Syrian city of Raqqa and the Iraqi city of Mosul, the group took refuge in the hinterlands of the two countries.
It retains a significant presence in Syria and Iraq and parts of Africa, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Fighters are scattered in autonomous cells, Islamic State leadership is clandestine and its overall size is hard to quantify. The U.N. estimates a membership of 10,000 in Islamic State heartlands.
Focus on Africa
Africa is now the focus of the group's operations.
Since suffering major setbacks in the Middle East, Islamic State has pivoted towards Africa, which accounted for 86% of the group's global activity in the first three months of 2026, according to crisis monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Northeastern Nigeria is the primary base of the biggest faction, ISWAP, but other branches operate in the Sahel region and also in Somalia, Mozambique and Congo.
Morocco's counterterrorism agency said in July it had foiled attack plots targeting sensitive sites and public security by a cell loyal to Islamic State's affiliate in the Sahel.
Other Regions of Operation
Many foreign fighters have joined Islamic State's Khorasan branch (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
In the Philippines, Islamic State affiliates remain active in southern areas, especially Mindanao, where pro-Islamic State militants controlled the city of Marawi in 2017.
Where Has It Carried Out Recent Attacks?
Middle Eastern leaders and their Western allies have warned that Islamic State could exploit the 2024 toppling of Bashar al-Assad's government to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.
Islamic State has declared a new phase of operations in Syria against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, carrying out a spate of attacks since February, including one that killed four Syrian government security personnel near Raqqa.
Since Assad's fall, Islamic State has been activating sleeper cells, surveilling potential targets and distributing guns, silencers and explosives, sources told Reuters.
A report by the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism said Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers had been targeted in five foiled assassination attempts by Islamic State.
Lone-Wolf and International Attacks
Islamic State has also inspired hard-to-detect lone-wolf attacks.
The 2025 shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach - Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years - raised questions over whether the group was inspiring those operations once again. The police said Islamic State appeared to have influenced the gunmen, who killed 15 people.
Exhibiting its ambitions, Islamic State-Khorasan, the Afghan offshoot of the militant group, claimed responsibility for a mass shooting that killed 149 people at a concert hall near Moscow in 2024.
It has been linked to several other plotted attacks in southern Russia and Azerbaijan in recent years, a trend that has alarmed intelligence services.
What Are Its Goals and Tactics?
Islamic State's aim is to spread its extreme form of Islam, and rule over Muslims. It has adopted new tactics since the collapse of its forces and a string of other setbacks in the Middle East.
Transformation After Territorial Losses
Iraqi security officials say Islamic State has undergone a significant transformation since losing its territorial strongholds - from a conventional force into a dispersed underground movement.
Cell-Based and Decentralised Operations
Instead of concentrating fighters in large formations, the group now depends on clandestine cells, loosely connected operatives and discreet courier networks to relay instructions, sustain communications and prepare attacks.
The group has also increasingly embraced a decentralised structure, handing small groups and individual militants greater autonomy and reducing their reliance on direct guidance from senior leadership.
This new model has been followed in Iraq and Syria, according to recent intelligence from sources on the ground. Security officials say the model helps the group withstand sustained counterterrorism campaigns in Iraq and Syria.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and David Lewis; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)
