Overview

• On May 22, Islamic State said a bomb in Sweida’s al-Safa desert struck a Syrian army vehicle, killing or wounding seven soldiers; the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported one civilian killed and three soldiers injured.
• Later this week IS claimed a separate bomb attack on U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army fighters, resulting in one death and three injuries.
• These strikes represent the first IS-claimed operations against Syrian government forces since the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024.
• President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who once led al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, came to power after a rapid November offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad.
• Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and pledged to lift economic sanctions on Damascus while urging him to recognize Israel to curb an Islamic State resurgence.