Although the Islamic State has repeatedly railed against the new Syrian government, called on those disillusioned with its ‘un-Islamic’ direction to defect, and clearly incited its supporters and members to attack the government, the overwhelming majority of the Islamic State’s claimed attacks in Syria are directed at the U.S.-backed ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF: simply made synonymous with the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] in the group’s propaganda). Such activity is in keeping with the group’s long-standing insurgency in SDF areas in northern and eastern Syria.
However, none of this mean that the Islamic State is not undertaking any activity against the new Syrian government beyond the two incidents it has officially claimed so far: rather, it is likely underreporting activity and attacks for security reasons. It seems likely, for example, that the group was responsible for a recent attack on a bus in Dayr al-Zur province belonging to the new Syrian government’s energy ministry, even though the group has not claimed the attack.
Below is an infographic of recent claimed attacks in Syria, published this week in the Islamic State’s al-Naba’ newsletter.