The Islamic State group on Saturday called on its fighters to confront Syria’s new authorities in its spokesperson’s first audio message in two years.
In a recording circulated online, spokesman Abu Huzaifa al-Ansari urged IS members in Syria to fight “the new Syrian regime, with its secular government and national army” and to “make that their priority”.
Al-Ansari’s previous audio message, released in January 2024, had called on IS supporters to attack Jews worldwide in retaliation for Israeli operations in Gaza.
Since overthrowing long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new leadership—which previously had links to the Al-Qaeda network—has sought to distance itself from its radical past and project a more moderate image internationally.
Last year, Syria joined the US-led coalition against IS and has coordinated operations targeting the group’s remaining cells inside the country.
IS seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014, carrying out mass killings and subjecting women and girls to sexual slavery. Iraq declared victory over the group in 2017 with the backing of US-led forces, and in 2019 Kurdish-led forces in Syria announced its territorial defeat there.
Last month, Syrian troops advanced against Kurdish forces, raising concerns over the fate of IS detainees held in Kurdish-run prisons.
Amid ongoing security concerns, Washington transferred more than 5,700 IS detainees from Syria to prisons in Iraq.
A camp that previously housed relatives of IS fighters has since been emptied, with residents either departing voluntarily or being relocated by Syrian authorities.
