ISIS claims responsibility for 2 bomb explosions in Syria
ISIS forces in a remote region in southern Syria claimed responsibility for two bombings targeting vehicles carrying soldiers and others on Wednesday and Thursday. Photo by Fayyaz Ahmad/EPA-EFE
May 31 (UPI) -- The Islamic State claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks in a remote region in southern Syria on Wednesday and Thursday.
The twin bombings mark the first time ISIS has attacked the new Syrian government that took power in December and occurred in the remote Sweida Province.
ISIS posted two online statements on Thursday claiming responsibility for the bombings that killed and wounded Syrian soldiers and militia members who are allied with the Syrian government, The New York Times reported.
An attack occurred on Wednesday and struck a Syrian Army reconnaissance group that was tracking ISIS activities in the remote desert area, CNN reported.
Those wounded in that attack are members of the Syrian Army's 70th Division, and the man who died was assisting the soldiers, according to Tthe New York Times.
ISIS used a remote-controlled land mine to target the vehicle in which they were traveling, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced.
That attack occurred in the eastern portion of the Sweida Province and was the first attack carried out by ISIS and targeting forces allied with the new Syrian government.
A second bombing occurred on Thursday in the same region, according to news reports and ISIS.
ISIS said it killed and injured seven soldiers for the "apostate Syrian regime" by using an explosive device on a road in the Talul al Safa area in the Suwayda province in southern Syria, Al Jazeera reported.
Both attacks occurred near Sweida in southern Syria, which is a mountainous desert area in which ISIS has operated for many years.
Neither the Syrian government nor the Free Syrian Army has commented on either bombing.
The United States backs the Free Syrian Army, which operates in the Sweida region's al Tanf Deconfliction Zone that is located near Syria's borders with Egypt and Jordan.
The United States maintains a small outpost in the area.
ISIS also has operated in the area for a long time due to its "extremely rugged and dangerous" terrain, CNN reported.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he he was lifting "crippling" U.S. sanctions on Syria originally imposed to block flows of money into Syria, including aid, to put pressure on the brutal regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
He met with the country's transitional leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May14.
Al-Sharaa, who was appointed president in January, has promised to hold elections once a new constitution is in place in around four years.
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