ISIS said it had begun a “new phase” of operations targeting the Syrian leadership on Saturday, claiming responsibility for two attacks on army personnel in the north and east of the country.
The militant group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had attacked “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir Ezzor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.
Syria’s Defence Ministry said that a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday by “unknown assailants”.
The attacks come amid a sharp escalation by ISIS against the leadership of Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, a former Al Qaeda member who broke with the group in 2016 before leading Hayat Tahrir Al Sham that overthrew the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad at the end of 2024.
On Saturday evening, ISIS released a recorded statement by its spokesman, Abu Hudhayfa Al Ansari, who said Syria had “moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation”. Ankara has been a key supporter of the new Syrian government and maintains a military presence in the country.
The group said it had begun a “new phase of operations” in Syria, describing Mr Al Shara as a “watchdog” of the global coalition and vowing that his fate would be no different from that of Al Assad.
Several social media accounts and Telegram channels supporting ISIS have in recent hours called for intensified attacks using motorcycles and firearms.
Mr Al Shara, who has moderated his image since winning power, has taken Syria into the American-led coalition against ISIS and sought to assure the US that his government can keep the militants at bay.
Washington had traditionally relied on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to fight against ISIS. The group used to control large areas of land in Syria and neighbouring Iraq but was largely territorially defeated in 2019.
US ground troops have departed from two key bases in Syria, confirming the US strategy of relying on the new government in Damascus. The National recently accompanied Syrian troops as they dismantled former ISIS positions in Deir Ezzor.
The US has carried out several strikes on ISIS positions in recent months, in retaliation for an ambush in Palmyra that killed three Americans in December. It was later revealed the attacker was a renegade Syrian officer. The same month, five Syrians were killed and others wounded in two attacks by suspected ISIS supporters.
More than 5,000 ISIS prisoners have also been relocated to Iraq, in a US Central Command operation, after internal fighting between Syrian government forces and the SDF. But many detainees are feared to have escaped in the chaotic transfer of control of the camps.
