According to the Syrian Interior Ministry, six members of Syria’s security forces were injured in the southern governorate of Deraa in a blast on 1 February, after an improvised explosive device (IED) left behind by unknown assailants targeted a military vehicle on the highway between Al-Muzayrib and Al-Yadouda.

“A number of Syrian government members were injured after their military vehicle was targeted on the road between the town of Al-Muzayrib and that of Al-Yadouda in the western countryside of Deraa,” a local source told Syrian news outlet North Press Agency (NPA).

The wounded were transported to Deraa National Hospital for treatment. Two of them were reported to have been in critical condition.

“Police patrols immediately attended and dispatched the injured to hospitals … The investigation process is still ongoing to find out the involved terrorists and take legal action against them,” SANA quoted the interior ministry statement as saying.

Lately, there has been a surge in militant activity across Syria since the start of the Turkish-Syrian reconciliation process, which the armed opposition – particularly Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – has expressed a complete rejection of.

The southern governorate in particular has been witnessing heightened tension. On 18 January, one officer was killed and five others injured in a blast in Deraa’s Bosra Square. The officer was identified as Major Fares Khalil of the Special Missions Unit. Two days later, Syrian intelligence took out a high-ranking ISIS leader in Deraa who was responsible for several assassinations and ambushes in the area.

Less than two weeks later, 15 members of Syria’s security forces were injured in a blast on 30 January, with one junior officer reportedly being killed. A day later, unidentified militants attacked a Syrian army checkpoint with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles, killing one soldier and injuring another.

The blast on 1 February was the fourth attack on Syrian servicemen in Deraa in the span of one month.

Last year, the governorate witnessed a string of assassinations that mainly targeted officials and military personnel who were involved in the Russian sponsored reconciliation efforts, which helped bring an end to heavy clashes in Deraa in 2021.