In Raqqa City, several people were arrested, allegedly for taking photographs of the aftermath of Coalition airstrikes on Daesh positions in the city on 4 October.
Daesh is likely concerned that accurate photos of the destruction will undermine its media outputs, which tend to remove any signs of Daesh military presence before decrying what it claims are “barbaric airstrikes on helpless civilians”.
On 7 October meanwhile, Daesh executed five men, some of whom were accused of spying for the International Coalition, in front of a crowd in al-Masrab (35 km northwest of Dayr al-Zawr City). Further, an accused spy was executed in front of a large crowd in the middle of Tabqa City following Friday prayers.
Security forces in Tabqa also detained and questioned two local shepherds for grazing their herds too close to Tabqa military airport, indicating an increased paranoia on the part of the organization.
Finally, on 9 October, Daesh opened a new Hisba office in Jadid Bakara (30 km southeast of Dayr al-Zawr City) in order to “clamp down on the town as much as possible,” likely in response to resistance activity.