ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least four members of Syria’s internal security forces were killed in an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) attack west of Raqqa, marking the second such offensive on the province in 24 hours, state media reported on Monday.

“Four Internal Security personnel were killed in the attack carried out by the ISIS terrorist organization on the al-Sabahiya checkpoint west of Raqqa city,” state media announced.

According to the state-run Syria TV, the internal forces targeted one of the attackers after surrounding him in a building next to the checkpoint.

“The clash lasted for approximately half an hour and is the second attack on the same checkpoint in 24 hours,” it added. On Sunday, Syrian security forces lost one of their personnel in an altercation, before killing an alleged ISIS attacker.

Earlier on Monday, internal security forces in Raqqa and Tabqa announced a complete ban on motorcycle movement inside city centers and main roads due to rising security concerns.

The development marks one of the most intense attacks by the terror group on the province, following its takeover by the Syrian Arab Army after a violent military campaign on areas held by the Kurdish-led forces.

The clashes between Damascus and the Kurdish-led forces led to a major security breach in the ISIS detention facilities in Rojava (northeast Syria), leading to the release of a large number of prisoners, with both sides accusing one another for the outbreak.

Days prior, NGO workers on the ground told The New Region that most of the 6,000 foreign ISIS women and children escaped from al-Hol by February 7.

ISIS took control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, declaring its so-called caliphate with the Iraqi city of Mosul as its capital. They were territorially defeated with assistance from the US-led coalition forces in Syria in 2019.