US Airstrikes in Syria: The United States struck dozens of ISIS-affiliated targets in Syria on December 19 in direct response to the ISIS-affiliated killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra on December 13. CTP-ISW will publish a complete analysis on US strikes in Syria in the December 22, 2025, Iran Update.
ISIS-aligned Attack in Syria: The Islamic State’s recognition of the December 13 attack on US forces in Palmyra may encourage Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS)-affiliated or -inspired fighters to attempt to conduct similar insider attacks on US or Syrian forces.
Integration of Iranian-backed Iraqi Militias: Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Imam Ali leader Shibl al Zaidi called for Iranian-backed Iraqi militias to disarm and integrate into the Popular Mobilization Forces in a statement published on X on December 18, which would constitute an initial step towards satisfying the first condition in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act’s Iraq funding. Iranian-backed Iraqi militias would need to demobilize their extralegal militias and reintegrate them into society, not merely place them under the PMF, to satisfy the first condition of the NDAA’s Iraq section.
Iran Update, December 19, 2025 (Institute for the Study of War)
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