THE Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Thursday for two attacks in southern Syria.

In statements issued late on Thursday, Isis said that in the first attack, a bomb was detonated targeting a “vehicle of the apostate regime,” leaving seven soldiers dead or wounded. 

It said the attack occurred “last Thursday,” or May 22, in the al-Safa area in the desert of the southern province of Sweida.

Isis said that the second attack occurred this week in a nearby area when a bomb targeting members of the United States-backed Free Syrian Army, killed one fighter and wounded three.

There was no comment from the government on the claim of the attack and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the attack on government forces killed one civilian and wounded three soldiers and was the first such attack by Isis against Syrian forces since the fall of president Assad in December.

Isis is opposed to the new authority in Damascus led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once the head of al-Qaida’s branch in Syria.