ISIS has launched a wave of daily attacks on Syrian government forces in north-eastern Syria in the days following the group’s declaration of war on the country’s leadership, even as the authorities intensify counter-terrorism efforts amid fears of a security vacuum.
At least 13 people were killed in 10 separate attacks in the past four days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The dead include 10 Syrian soldiers and security personnel, a civilian, and two ISIS members involved in the attacks.
The group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks since Sunday, the most recent of them on a checkpoint in Raqqa on Tuesday night. The assault came a day after another ISIS attack inside the city killed four members of Syria’s internal security forces. Syria’s Interior Ministry said it dismantled the ISIS cell behind both Raqqa operations.
“Based on accurate intelligence information and investigations, our security units carried out a series of qualitative and simultaneous security operations at dawn today,” the commander of internal security in Raqqa governorate, Col Rami Asaa Al Taha, announced in a statement on Tuesday night.
The operations, he said, resulted in the killing of one member and the arrest of four others. Security forces will continue patrols and “preventive measures” to deter further attacks, he added.
In Deir Ezzor, unknown gunmen also conducted multiple attacks on security and army installations in the north-eastern region. It is not known whether the assailants were affiliated with the terrorist group, which commonly operates in the Deir Ezzor desert.
The group declared war on Syria's post-Assad order in a voice recording released on February 21 and attributed to Abu Hudhayfah Al Ansari. In the recording, he described the new government as illegitimate because of its ties to Turkey and the US. He called President Ahmad Al Shara “a new despot” leading a “crusader” government, whose fate “will not be better” than that of the former dictator Bashar Al Assad.
The group's announcement, and the attacks, came amid mounting fears of a major security vacuum in Syria following the drastic reduction of US troops in Syria – first deployed over a decade ago to combat ISIS – ahead of a planned full withdrawal. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US’s main partner in the campaign against the group, have also effectively dissolved after suffering a major defeat against the Syrian government.
Syrian authorities have blamed the SDF for a mass escape of people with suspected ties to ISIS from Al Hol, a notorious, and now closed, detention centre in the desert.
“We were surprised by an uncoordinated withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces more than six hours before the arrival of the Syrian Arab Army,” Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al Baba said at a press conference on Wednesday. Upon arrival, we observed cases of mass escape resulting from the opening of internal berms and checkpoints of the camp.”
The SDF, which had guarded the facility for years, withdrew during a January offensive by the Syrian government to retake areas under SDF control. It has maintained that its forces were “compelled” to withdraw to defend other cities against Syrian troops.
On Tuesday, an EU internal memo raised concerns over the escape of thousands of detainees from Al Hol, suggesting radical groups could recruit from them, Reuters reported. “This raises concerns about how terrorist groups might seek to capitalise on the current situation to increase recruitment efforts among escapees,” said the memo.
Syria, under its new transitional government, joined the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in November 2025. Mr Al Shara, a former member of Al Qaeda, later turned against ISIS during his time as an insurgent leader. He went on to head Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which led an 11-day offensive that toppled the Assad regime in December 2024.
