The jihadist Islamic State (ISIS) organization on Saturday claimed responsibility for two recent terror attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, signaling what it described as a new phase of operations against the nation's leadership, Reuters reported.
This declaration comes amidst heightened tensions and a series of foiled assassination attempts against President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In a statement released via its Dabiq news agency, ISIS asserted that its terrorists targeted "an individual of the apostate Syrian regime" in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province, utilizing a pistol. Concurrently, two additional personnel were attacked with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.
Syria's Defense Ministry confirmed the incidents, stating that a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday by "unknown assailants." A military source, speaking to Reuters, further clarified that the fallen soldier was a member of the army's 42nd Division.
These attacks are unfolding amid a sharp escalation by ISIS against Syria's current leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda leader, famously broke with the terror group in 2016 before spearheading a coalition of Islamist factions that ultimately overthrew President Bashar al-Assad at the close of 2024.
On Saturday evening, Islamic State's spokesperson, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, released a recorded statement, proclaiming that Syria had "moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation." The terror group further announced the commencement of a "new phase of operations" within Syria, deriding Sharaa as a "watchdog" of the global coalition and vowing that his fate would mirror that of Assad.
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in the land it controlled.
Several military offensives, including ones backed by a US-led international coalition, have since seen ISIS lose most areas it once controlled, including the loss of its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria.
However, ISIS sleeper cells remain in the area and continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. The US deploys troops in Syria as part of its effort to defeat ISIS in the region.