Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility on February 24 for an attack on a Syrian army headquarters in the city of Al-Mayadeen in Deir ez-Zor province that left one soldier dead.

In a statement posted on its Telegram channel and carried by its affiliated outlet, the group said it had targeted a soldier in Al-Mayadeen using a pistol and carried out a separate attack with machine guns against two other Syrian army personnel in the northern city of Raqqa.

On February 23, Syria’s Interior Ministry said internal security forces had thwarted a “terrorist attack” targeting one of their checkpoints in Raqqa. The attack left four security personnel dead and two others injured, while one of the assailants was killed.

The ministry added that this was the second attack on internal security forces in the area in recent days, noting that a checkpoint had also come under attack on February 22 in what it described as an attempt to destabilise the region.

A spokesperson for ISIS, identified as Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari, claimed that “Syria has moved from Iranian occupation to Turkish-American occupation”, according to the group’s statement.

Meanwhile, internal security forces in Latakia province carried out what officials described as a “qualitative operation” targeting one of the main strongholds of a militia known as “Saraya al-Jawad” in the countryside of Jableh.

Brigadier Abdulaziz al-Ahmad, commander of internal security in Latakia, said in remarks published by the Interior Ministry on Telegram, "after several days of surveillance, security forces conducted a dual operation in the areas of Beit Alouni and Basniya in rural Jableh."

“After an hour-long clash, our forces succeeded in neutralising the militia’s leader on the coast, Bashar Abdullah Abu Raqiya, along with two of its commanders, and arrested six other members,” he said, adding that forces also destroyed a weapons depot and explosives store belonging to the group.

The developments come amid reports that the US-led international coalition is preparing to end its military presence in eastern Syria within weeks, according to Syrian, Kurdish and diplomatic sources cited by Agence France-Presse. A Syrian government source said the withdrawal would be completed within about a month, without maintaining any ground military bases.

In recent hours, accounts and channels supportive of ISIS have called on social media for intensified attacks using motorcycles and firearms.

Separately, Iraqi Deputy Minister of Migration and Displacement Karim al-Nouri said “around 22,000 Iraqis had been repatriated from Al-Hol camp in Syria, which housed families of ISIS fighters.” He noted that between 1,200 and 3,000 individuals wanted on security charges for involvement in terrorist operations remain inside Syrian territory.

“We call on the Syrian authorities to search for them, determine their fate and hand them over to the Iraqi side,” al-Nouri said.

The Syrian government has recently begun dismantling Al-Hol camp, with many Syrian residents transferred to another camp in Aleppo province. Earlier this year, government forces launched an offensive in northern and north-eastern Syria aimed at reasserting control over areas previously held by Kurdish forces.