Islamic State Claims Two Attacks in Syria in Two Days

The Islamic State group claimed two separate attacks in the countryside of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor over the past two days, alleging that it targeted a vehicle belonging to the Syrian government in northern Raqqa and an oil tanker in the Deir Ezzor countryside, amid warnings that the group’s cells are expanding their activity after the fall of the ousted Assad regime.

No immediate comment was issued by Syrian official bodies on the accuracy of the claims published by the group’s media outlets, which did not provide visual or independent evidence confirming that the incidents took place.

Targeting an Army Vehicle and Damaging an Oil Tanker

In a report published in issue 543 of al-Naba, the Islamic State’s newspaper, issued on Thursday, April 16, the group said it had targeted a vehicle belonging to the “Syrian regime” in northern Raqqa province.

The newspaper said one member of the “apostate” Syrian regime, in its wording, was wounded in a machine gun attack on Sunday, April 12.

The newspaper added that the men it called the “soldiers of the caliphate” targeted a Syrian army vehicle near the village of Shnina, north of Raqqa, with machine guns, wounding at least one member, according to al-Naba.

In a separate statement on Friday, April 17, the group announced that its members had targeted an oil tanker belonging to the “Syrian government” in the village of al-Makman in the countryside of Raqqa.

The newspaper claimed the attack was carried out with machine guns on Thursday, April 16, damaging the tanker and causing its cargo to leak. It did not provide any independent evidence, whether videos or photographs, documenting the incident.

At the time of writing, no confirmation or comment had been issued by Syrian official bodies or credible local sources regarding the accuracy of these claims.

Broad Activity, but Poorly Coordinated Attacks

Syrian researcher Ahmed Abazid told Enab Baladi, commenting on the nature of Islamic State operations at the current stage, that the group had radically changed its strategy since losing its last stronghold in Baghouz in 2019.

Abazid said the group “moved to a different model, operating as small, covert cells in each sector, while maintaining organizational cohesion and security vetting of its members.”

He said the group’s strategy after the fall of the Assad regime had not changed much in terms of method, “except that it has become active in wider areas, while facing greater risks of security exposure than before, which was evident in operations by the Syrian Interior Ministry that announced the arrest of several cells belonging to the group.”

Abazid believes the group sees greater recruitment opportunities under the new reality and therefore “revived its takfiri rhetoric against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the new rulers, trying to exploit the opening of former regime areas and the anger of potentially hardline members within faction ranks, in addition to recruitment driven by poverty.”

On the group’s current operational capabilities, the researcher said the broad deployment of Syrian government personnel allows it to carry out “hit-and-run strikes,” as seen in recent months in attacks targeting checkpoints and patrols.

But Abazid added that the group lacks the capacity to carry out broad, coordinated attacks, keeping its threat at the level of individuals or small groups.

Rising Tempo of Attacks in the Desert and the North

The latest claims fall within a repeated pattern of the group claiming assassinations and scattered attacks against Syrian government personnel, particularly in the countryside of Aleppo, Raqqa, and Deir Ezzor.

Al-Naba had previously said the group’s militants carried out two separate attacks in the Aleppo countryside, targeting members of the Syrian army and what it called “Branch 90” of the “international coalition,” referring to Syrian army forces under the new government.

The newspaper said that on March 6, the men it called the “soldiers of the caliphate” killed two members of the “apostate Syrian army,” in its wording, on the Aleppo, al-Bab road near the village of Abad in the Aleppo countryside, after opening fire on them with machine guns.

The statement said the attackers returned safely to their positions after carrying out the operation.

The Media and Communication Administration at the Ministry of Defense had said in a statement to the official al-Ikhbariya channel that two army soldiers were killed, referring to the two members near the village of Abad.

Al-Naba added that in a second attack on the same day in the same area, the group’s militants killed a third Syrian army member near the village of al-Sahara in the Aleppo countryside with machine guns.

According to the newspaper, on March 8, the group’s fighters targeted a Syrian police officer in the town of al-Subha (Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria).

It said the attackers used “machine guns” to carry out the operation, killing the targeted officer immediately. It also claimed that the attackers were able to withdraw and return to their positions “safely,” in its wording.