Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility on Saturday for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, as the group signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership.

The group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.

Syria’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday by “unknown assailants.” A military source told Reuters the soldier belonged to the army’s 42nd Division.

The attacks come amid a sharp escalation by IS against Syria’s leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader who broke with the group in 2016 before leading a coalition of Islamist factions that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024.