Terrorist group strikes Syrian Army in Sweida province

ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for its first attack in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime by conducting attacks on the Syrian army.

According to Qatar-backed Al Jazeera, in a statement released on the 29th of May, the terrorist group claimed they had planted an explosive which had hit a “vehicle of the apostate regime” in southern Syria.

This is the first attack conducted by the group on the new Syrian government, which they believe is illegitimate, with previous attacks by the group being focused on Kurdish forces in the north.

The blast reportedly killed or wounded seven people in the al-Safa desert region of Sweida province on the 22nd of May.

At this time, there has been no comment by the Syrian government, with the Free Syrian Army yet to respond.

This is a situation which could unravel and cause serious issues for the Syrian interim government, which overthrew the Assad regime in December.

Marco Rubio in has already said that Syria could fall into civil war at any moment and needs serious funding to be stable.

This has come with the removal of sanctions by both the US and EU, yet sectarian violence and an unstable balance of power remain across Syria.

In March, over 1,000 people were murdered in the northwestern region, including civilians, as government loyalists conducted attacks in the Alawite minority community.

Though recent moves to stability have occurred with President al-Sharaa appearing to have won over the West with regards to Syria’s future and his own commitments to stability.

Despite this, the new interim government cannot afford more instability in the country with ISIL moving into an already unstable situation, which needs time to find its feet.

Al Jazeera/Maghrebi.org