Islamic State claims responsibility for two attacks on Syrian army, announces 'new phase' of operations

(Patria) - Islamic State (ISIL) claimed responsibility on Saturday for two attacks targeting members of the Syrian army in northern and eastern Syria and signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country's leadership, Reuters reported.

The militant group, in its Dabiq news agency, stated that it targeted an "apostate Syrian regime official" in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other members with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that "unknown attackers" killed a Syrian army soldier and a civilian. A military source told Reuters that the soldier belonged to the 42nd Division.

The attacks come amid an escalation by ISIL against the Syrian leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda leader who broke away from the group in 2016 and subsequently led a coalition of Islamist factions that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

On Saturday evening, ISIL released a recorded statement from its spokesman, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, who said that Syria had "transitioned from Iranian to Turkish-American occupation".

The group announced that it had begun a "new phase of operations" in Syria, describing Sharaa as a "guardian" of the global coalition and vowing that his fate would not be different from Assad's.

Sharaa signed Syria's accession to the global coalition to defeat ISIL during a visit to the United States last November, when he met with President Donald Trump.

The latest incidents come two days after ISIL claimed responsibility for an attack in Deir al-Zor in which a member of the Ministry of Interior was killed and another wounded.

Several social media profiles and Telegram channels supporting ISIL have, in recent hours, called for an intensification of attacks using motorcycles and firearms. ISIL has carried out six attacks on Syrian government targets since Assad's fall.

A report by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism published last week stated that Sharaa and two cabinet ministers had been the targets of five failed assassination attempts by ISIL.