Islamic State calls for attacks on Syrian government

The Islamic State group (IS) on Saturday urged its followers to carry out attacks on Syria's government and national army, in its spokesperson's first audio message in two years.

In a recording posted online on the group's media outlet, Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari declared that the priority of the group is now overthrowing the president, Ahmed al-Sharaa’s "apostate and secular rule."

Al-Shaara, formerly known as al-Qaeda-aligned Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, became the interim president in January 2025 after ousting longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Al-Shaara founded al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, in 2012. Nusra Front later fought against IS. The leader gradually reshaped his public image over the years as a more conventional political actor.

In November last year, Syria officially joined the US-led global coalition against IS during a historic visit by al-Sharaa to Washington, and has coordinated attacks against the group's remnants in the country. The government officials attended the 90-member coalition's meeting in Riyadh on Monday in Saudi Arabia.

The IS spokesperson also attacked Syria for joining the coalition and saying that "crusaders are the true rulers of Syria today" while discussing "fighting in Damascus until the day of judgment". 

The statement also celebrates the group’s successes in Africa and calls IS followers to move to regions where the group is prominent.

A new phase 'centred on Syria'

Cagatay Cebe, an independent researcher specialising in jihadist movements, sees the statement as a regrouping call in Syria and says it makes the group’s signalled shift in position official.

"After its last territorial losses in 2019, the organisation preferred to keep its presence in this country low-profile, focusing on strengthening its branches in different continents," Cebe told Middle East Eye.

"It carried out actions in Syria, but it did not claim responsibility for any of them except in areas held by Syrian Democratic Forces, or avoided carrying out actions to avoid attracting attention," he said, adding that it changed after Shaara's Washington visit last year.

Then the group started claiming responsibility for attacks against the government forces, and they had already dispersed all their cadres from the deserts to Syrian cities and towns, he said.

"IS is now preparing for a campaign centred in Syria again. This may not yield results in the short term, but they might try to transfer their forces from Iraq to Syria," Cebe added.

Shortly after the release of the audio statement on Saturday, IS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed two alleged members of the Syrian army in Raqqa.

The group two days ago claimed responsibility for another attack in Deir al-Zor that killed a member of the interior ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another.

According to a report by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism released last week, IS carried out five failed assassination attempts targeting Ahmed al-Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers.

IS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, capturing large swathes of both countries. Backed by US-led forces, Iraq declared the territorial defeat of the group in 2017, followed two years later by its defeat from all urban areas in Syria.