Islamic State claims attacks in Syria and declares “new phase”

Islamic State claimed two attacks on Syrian army personnel on Saturday (22 February), saying they marked the start of a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Islamic State (IS) said through its Dabiq news outlet that it targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.

Syria’s Defence Ministry said a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed by “unknown assailants,” and a military source told Reuters the soldier belonged to the army’s 42nd Division.

The attacks come amid a sharp escalation by IS against Syria’s leadership under Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took power from Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

On Saturday evening, IS released a recorded statement by its spokesperson, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, who said Syria had “moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation,” accusing al-Sharaa of acting as a “watchdog” for the global coalition.

The group said it had begun a “new phase of operations” in Syria and vowed that al-Sharaa’s fate would be no different from Assad’s.

President al-Sharaa signed Syria’s accession to the global coalition to defeat IS during a visit to the U.S. last November, when he met President Donald Trump.

Saturday’s incidents follow an IS claim two days earlier of an attack in Deir al-Zor that killed a member of the Interior Ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another.

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Several social media accounts and Telegram channels supporting IS have in recent hours called for intensified attacks using motorcycles and firearms.

IS has carried out six attacks against Syrian government targets since the fall of Assad.

A report released last week by the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism said al-Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers had been the targets of five foiled assassination attempts by IS, underscoring the group’s efforts to challenge the new Syrian leadership.

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