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ISIS Targets ‘Apostate Regime’ as U.S. Reopens Diplomatic Ties in Syria

by Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks in Syria’s southern Sweida province, signaling a resurgence of the extremist group in areas once considered secure since the fall of the Assad regime.

In a statement released last Thursday, ISIS said it detonated a bomb on May 22 targeting a vehicle belonging to the “apostate regime” in the al-Safa desert. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack, calling it the first ISIS strike on Syrian army forces since the Assad family’s 54-year rule ended in December. The group reported one civilian killed and three Syrian soldiers wounded.

ISIS claimed a second bombing earlier this week targeting members of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), reportedly killing one fighter and injuring three. These attacks reflect a broader trend of ISIS sleeper cells reactivating in post-Assad Syria, particularly in the south and northeast.

The renewed violence came just as the United States raised its flag over the residence of its special envoy in Damascus last Thursday — the first public American diplomatic presence in Syria in over a decade. While no formal reopening of the U.S. Embassy has been announced, the symbolic act marks a significant policy shift and coincided with the lifting of long-standing sanctions and the signing of economic agreements between Washington and Damascus.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who also serves as ambassador to Turkey, presided over the flag-raising ceremony alongside Syria’s new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani. The event was covered by regional media, highlighting a warming of relations following years of hostility.

The U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Damascus in 2012 after Assad’s violent suppression of peaceful protests during the Arab Spring escalated into a civil war. For over a decade, Washington backed opposition forces and imposed heavy sanctions on Assad’s government.

That policy remained until last year, when President Ahmad al-Sharaa—a former leader of the jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—led a surprise offensive that toppled Assad. Though controversial due to his militant past, al-Sharaa has since engaged with international leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, in efforts to stabilize Syria and prevent an ISIS resurgence.

However, ISIS’s recent attacks suggest that the group still poses a serious threat, casting a shadow over Syria’s fragile transition and the West’s cautious re-engagement.

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