Islamic State claims first strike on Syria's post-Assad government

The Islamic State (IS) group on Thursday claimed responsibility for its first attack targeting Syria’s new government forces since the ousting of former president Bashar al-Assad, according to war monitors.

In a statement picked up by the SITE Intelligence Group, IS said it planted an "explosive device" on a Syrian military vehicle in Sweida province, in the country’s south.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed the incident saying that this was the first IS claimed attack on new Syrian government. It said that the attack took place on Wednesday and involved a remote-controlled landmine which struck a patrol from the Syrian army’s 70th division. One man, who was accompanying government troops, was killed. Three soldiers were wounded in the blast, AFP reported.

Though the extremist group was territorially defeated in 2019 after losing vast stretches of land across Syria and Iraq, it continues to operate in the country’s central desert regions. Its recent attacks have primarily targeted Kurdish-led forces in the northeast, rather than the new Islamist-backed government which replaced Assad in December.

However, tensions have been rising. Earlier this week, Syrian authorities said they had dismantled an IS cell near Damascus, alleging that its members were preparing to launch attacks. In a separate operation in Aleppo earlier this month, three IS fighters and a government security officer were killed.

The resurgence in activity has drawn international attention. During a recent meeting in Riyadh with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, US President Donald Trump urged him to "help the United States to prevent to resurgence of IS."