Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for two recent attacks on Syrian army personnel in the northern and eastern regions of Syria. The group announced a new phase of operations targeting the country’s leadership. According to IS’s Dabiq news agency, one attack took place in Mayadin, Deir al-Zor province, where they targeted an individual from the Syrian regime using a pistol. The second attack involved machine gun fire on two other personnel in Raqqa.
The Syrian Defence Ministry reported that on Saturday, a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed by “unknown assailants.” A military source informed Reuters that the soldier was a member of the army’s 42nd Division.
These attacks coincide with an increase in IS activities against Syria’s leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Sharaa, a former al Qaeda member who split from the group in 2016, later led a coalition of Islamist factions that successfully ousted President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
