Overview
- Islamic State has claimed its first attack against Syria’s new government forces since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.
- The group said it detonated a remote landmine in Sweida province, killing a civilian riding with a patrol and wounding three soldiers from the 70th division.
- Analysts warn that Islamic State retains underground cells across Syria and has conducted routine assaults despite losing major territories in 2019.
- Syrian security forces have dismantled an armed Islamic State cell on Damascus’s outskirts and arrested suspected jihadists in Aleppo this month.
- U.S. President Donald Trump told interim President Ahmed al-Chareh that cooperation with American forces is vital to avert a renewed Islamic State surge.