ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syrian authorities on Monday described a deadly incident in northern Aleppo province as an isolated case, stating that a man who detonated a hand grenade - killing only himself - was a drug user with a criminal record, ruling out claims that it may have been a “terrorist attack.”
In a statement relayed by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Syrian interior ministry said that “the man detonated the grenade due to a personal dispute with his ex-wife's family,” denying initial reports suggesting the individual had carried out a “terrorist attack” using an explosive belt.
The ministry noted that investigations into the explosion that occurred on Sunday in the al-Maysar neighborhood in eastern Aleppo are underway, elaborating that the perpetrator had a history of drug use and a criminal record.
Earlier on Sunday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the explosion resulted in only material damage, adding that it highlights the ongoing “security chaos in several areas of Syria.”
Following a swift offensive in December, a coalition of opposition groups led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - then-headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa - toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president and has since been scrambling to maintain a tight grip on security.
Syria has witnessed a wave of attacks in recent months, many of which have been blamed by authorities on the Islamic State (ISIS). The most deadly of these occurred in late June, when a bombing targeted a church in Damascus' Duwaila neighborhood during Sunday mass. That attack killed 25 people and injured at least 63 others.
At the time, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said that ISIS continues to exploit security gaps in the country to launch destabilizing attacks, despite its territorial defeat in 2019.
Prior to the Damascus attack, in late May, three people were killed and several others injured in an explosive-rigged vehicle blast in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, eastern Syria.
ISIS has also intensified its operations in areas controlled by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
The UK-based war monitor, SOHR, reported on Thursday that “ISIS has carried out 152 operations” in DAANES-administered regions since the beginning of 2025. These include “armed assaults, targeted killings, and bombings.”
SOHR noted that the attacks have led to 64 deaths, including 45 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one SDF-affiliated member, ten civilians, and eight ISIS militants.
The SDF, which functions as the de facto military force in Rojava, has played a leading role in the fight against ISIS with support from the United States. However, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi has consistently warned about the ongoing threat posed by ISIS.
“If we don’t want to see ISIS make a comeback, we must continue the fight with greater urgency,” Abdi said in January.
