Islamic State claims attacks in Syria

The Islamic State group announced through its weekly publication al-Naba that it had carried out a series of separate attacks in Syria.

The attacks targeted members of the Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Aleppo and al-Hasakah countryside over the past week, killing at least five members, according to Enab Baladi’s monitoring of the issue released on Thursday, March 12.

The operations come amid growing activity by the group in the Syrian desert, and in northern and eastern Syria.

In issue No. 538, the newspaper published details of three separate operations it said were carried out by its fighters, described as “soldiers of the caliphate.”

Targeting government forces in Aleppo countryside

According to al-Naba, the group’s militants carried out two separate attacks in the Aleppo countryside, targeting members of the Syrian army and what the publication called “Branch 90” of the “international coalition,” referring to forces affiliated with the Syrian army under the new government.

The newspaper said that on the evening of Friday, March 6, militants shot and killed two members of what it described as the “apostate Syrian army” on the road between Aleppo and al-Bab, near the village of Abed in the Aleppo countryside, using machine guns.

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

The Media and Communications Directorate at the Syrian Ministry of Defense said in a statement to the official al-Ikhbariya channel that two soldiers were killed in the incident near the village of Abed.

According to information obtained by Enab Baladi, the two victims were brothers Mahmoud and Mohammad al-Ahmad bin Asaad, from the village of Tal Maksour in the Aleppo countryside.

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 soldier near the village of al-Sahhara in the Aleppo countryside, using machine guns.

According to the publication, the group’s militants also targeted a member of the Syrian police on March 8 in the town of al-Subhah in Deir Ezzor countryside.

It said the attackers used machine guns in the operation, killing the targeted officer immediately, and claimed that the perpetrators withdrew safely.

SDF member killed in al-Hasakah countryside

In a separate report under what the publication calls “Wilayat al-Barakah” (al-Hasakah), the newspaper reported the killing of a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, whom it described as belonging to the “apostate PKK.”

According to a source cited by the publication, fighters described as “soldiers of the caliphate” killed an SDF member on March 10 in the town of al-Dashisha (northeastern al-Hasakah), after previously capturing and holding him for more than a week.

Assassinations on the rise

The incident comes as part of a series of assassinations targeting members of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in recent weeks, with repeated patterns indicating the likely involvement of Islamic State sleeper cells in most of them.

A few days earlier, northeastern Aleppo countryside witnessed a similar incident in which two members of the Syrian army’s 86th Division were killed by unidentified gunmen in the town of al-Rai on March 2.

According to information obtained by Enab Baladi, the two victims were Abdullah Ismail and Mohammad Othman, from the village of Jazraya south of Aleppo. They were targeted at Arfad roundabout in the town.

Escalation follows audio message

The rise in the group’s activity coincides with calls made by the organization’s spokesperson, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, in an audio recording released on February 21, his first audio message in two years.

The recording described the Syrian government as “secular” and called for confronting it.

During February, Enab Baladi documented seven operations claimed by the group targeting members of the Syrian army in the governorates of Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, and Aleppo. Six of them took place after the audio message.

One of the most notable attacks took place on February 23, when four soldiers were killed and three others injured in an attack on a security checkpoint in the town of al-Sabahiyah west of Raqqa.

On February 27, the group also claimed responsibility for targeting a soldier in the village of Tiara in Aleppo countryside.

Security sources said the Syrian army continues to tighten security measures in the targeted areas to protect its personnel and prevent similar attacks, amid warnings of growing militant activity in some rural areas and across the Syrian desert.