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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| ISIS claims two attacks on Syrian army after calling for opposition to its government |
| 2026-02-22 |
There can be only one, I guess. [IsraelTimes] The Islamic State jihadist group claims responsibility for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, as the group signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership.The group says on its Dabiq news agency that it had 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 Defense Ministry says in a statement that a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday by “unknown assailants.” A military source tells Reuters the soldier belonged to the army’s 42nd Division. The attacks come amid a sharp escalation by ISIS against Syria’s leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader who broke with the terror group in 2016 before leading a coalition of Islamist factions that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024. ISIS releases a recorded statement by its spokesperson, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, who says Syria had “moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation.” The group says it had begun a “new phase of operations” in Syria, describing Sharaa as a “watchdog” of the global coalition and vowing that his fate will be no different from that of Assad. Sharaa signed Syria’s accession to the global coalition to defeat ISIS during a visit to the US last November, when he met US President Donald Trump. The latest incidents come two days after ISIS claimed responsibility for another attack in Deir al-Zor that killed a member of the Interior Ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another. The Islamic State jihadist group urges its fighters to confront Syria’s new authorities in its spokesperson’s first audio message in two years. In a recording posted online, Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari said ISIS members in Syria must fight “the new Syrian regime, with its secular government and national army” and “make that their priority.” The last time al-Ansari posted an audio message was in January 2024, when he urged ISIS supporters to kill Jews around the world in revenge for Israeli military operations in Gaza. Since ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities, who had links to the Al-Qaeda terror group, have sought to break from their radical past and present a moderate image. They are led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Last year, Syria joined the US-led coalition against ISIS and has been coordinating attacks against the group’s remnants in the country. Related: Mayadin: 2025-10-27 Child wounded in bomb explosion in east Deir ez-Zor Mayadin: 2025-08-24 ISIS kills Syrian security force member in Deir ez-Zor suicide attack Mayadin: 2025-08-23 Member of Syrian armed forces said killed in Islamic State suicide attack Related: Deir al-Zor: 2024-08-25 ISIS claims responsibility for German festival attack, Syrian knifeman turns himself in Deir al-Zor: 2023-04-11 US-led coalition targeted by missile attack in northeastern Syria Deir al-Zor: 2022-02-09 Russian Defense Ministry: US and Britain continue amnesty for terrorists in Syria |
| Posted by:trailing wife |