IS threatens 'new phase' as Syria reshapes security with government-SDF integration progress

The Islamic State group (IS) has resurfaced with a new audio message threatening a "new phase" of operations in Syria and Iraq, denouncing Syria’s post-Assad government as an "apostate regime" and urging renewed attacks on security forces.

In the recording circulated on Telegram channels affiliated with the group, spokesman Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari described the new Syrian government as "apostate unbelievers", adding, "Nothing after faith is more obligatory than fighting them to liberate al-Sham from their claws… The soldiers of al-Sham must diligently seek to fight them."

The message is the first by Abu Hudhayfah, the fourth IS spokesman since 2014, and comes months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. It included a message attributed to the group’s current leader, Abu Hafs al-Qurashi, calling on militants to seize the month of Ramadan to carry out armed operations "on the frontlines".

ISIS also attacked President Ahmed al-Sharaa, labelling him a "new tyrant", and claimed that Syria had merely shifted from a regime loyal to Russia and Iran to one aligned with Turkey and the US.

The statement coincided with IS claims of responsibility for two recent attacks on Syrian army personnel in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.

According to the group’s Amaq agency, it targeted “a member of the apostate Syrian regime” in al-Mayadeen and attacked two other soldiers in Raqqa. Syrian state media confirmed that a soldier and a civilian were killed in an attack in northern Raqqa, while Reuters cited a military source identifying the soldier as belonging to the army’s 42nd Division.

Reuters has recorded six IS attacks against Syrian government targets since Assad’s fall.

Security analysts say the rhetoric marks a return to the group’s familiar language of excommunication and bloodshed, but in a changed operational context.

Iraqi security expert Ahmed Naji al-Abbasi said the statement has "no impact on Iraq, and the chances of it posing a threat to the Iraqi security scene are very weak or non-existent".

However, he warned that IS is adept at exploiting instability, particularly in Syria, cautioning that the country could face a phase of attrition through intermittent attacks targeting security forces and possibly sensitive sectarian sites.

Ali al-Saadi, a researcher at the University of Baghdad, described the group today as "small, scattered cells cut off from each other, financed by extortion and smuggling, without known central leadership or a supportive social base", calling its latest statement "inflated rhetoric from a sick and weak body".

 He nonetheless warned of the danger posed by sporadic attacks capable of inflaming sectarian tensions.

The renewed threats come as Damascus seeks to consolidate control over the country’s northeast through negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

An SDF delegation arrived in Damascus this week for further talks with the Ministry of Defence on integrating its forces into the Syrian army. The delegation met Chief of Staff Major General Ali al-Naasan to discuss incorporating SDF units into several army brigades, while the defence ministry said discussions also covered military deployment and administrative steps.

A source close to the SDF told The New Arab's sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that talks centre on whether integration should occur as a collective bloc or on an individual basis, though compromise solutions may be reached soon.

The negotiations follow a 29 January ceasefire agreement that included phased military and administrative integration, the entry of security forces into Hasakah and Qamishli, and the transfer of state institutions and border crossings to central control.

At the same time, governance authorities in the northeast are managing the legacy of IS-linked detainees and families.

The Autonomous Administration confirmed it has no plans to close Roj camp in Hasakah province, which houses 730 foreign families from 42 countries, as well as Iraqi and Syrian families linked to IS members.

Sheikhmous Ahmad, co-chair of the Office of Displaced Persons and Refugee Affairs, said: "The camp remains operational, and the administration will continue to protect and manage the residents."

“There is currently no intention to close the camp,” he added, while urging foreign governments to coordinate repatriations.