ISIS Attack Kills Four Security Personnel in Raqqa, Syrian Authorities Say

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Four members of Syria’s internal security forces were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa, according to state media reports on Monday, marking the second assault on government personnel in as many days.

The state-run SANA cited a security source as saying the victims died when militants targeted a checkpoint. Syria’s Interior Ministry described the incident as a “terrorist attack,” adding that one of the assailants was killed during the confrontation. Officials did not disclose casualties from a similar attack reported a day earlier, but said that the incident also resulted in the death of one attacker.

The assault comes after ISIS leadership urged its fighters to intensify operations against Syrian authorities. The group, which once controlled large swathes of Syria and Iraq, previously used Raqqa as its de facto capital during the height of its territorial rule.

Syrian government forces recently regained control of the northern city from Kurdish-led forces that had administered it with backing from the United States and its allies following ISIS’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019. Despite losing its strongholds, the militant organization is believed to maintain sleeper cells across Syria’s vast desert regions.

Since the ouster of longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new leadership—once linked to Al‑Qaeda—has sought to distance itself from its militant past and project a more moderate stance. Last year, Damascus joined the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS and has since coordinated operations targeting remnants of the group.