DAMASCUS, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Syria's interior and defense chiefs held a high-level meeting on Thursday to strengthen coordination as the country steps up its nationwide campaign against Islamic State (IS) cells amid a surge in militant attacks in the east, according to officials and monitoring groups.

Interior chief Anas Khattab and defense chief Marhaf Abu Qasra convened an expanded meeting in Damascus with senior officers to discuss what authorities described as the "current security and defense challenges" facing the country.

According to a statement from the interior authorities, the talks focused on strengthening joint field coordination, unifying command structures, and accelerating operational procedures to respond more efficiently to emerging threats. Both officials stressed that sustained cooperation between the two departments remains "a fundamental pillar of national security."

The meeting concluded with a set of recommendations that will be implemented in the coming days, aimed at boosting readiness and improving the government's ability to confront escalating security risks, an interior authorities' statement said, without disclosing details.

The stepped-up coordination comes as IS cells intensify attacks in eastern Syria's Deir al-Zour province, where militants targeted two oil tankers in separate incidents on Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

In the village of al-Tayyahki, suspected IS fighters opened fire on a fuel tanker, causing material damage. Hours later, in al-Shahil, another tanker was hit, leaving its driver wounded. Both attacks fit a growing pattern of hit-and-run assaults carried out by IS cells across the eastern Euphrates region.

The observatory said Thursday that IS militants have conducted 215 attacks in areas controlled by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration since the beginning of 2025, in which 97 people were killed, including 68 Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters, 15 civilians, and 13 IS militants.

As the attacks rise, Syrian interior authorities released video footage Thursday showing security forces raiding suspected IS hideouts in several provinces. The operations were launched last week in coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate.

Specialized units have been deployed in Idlib and other regions to raid sites believed to be harboring IS operatives. Officials have not disclosed the number of arrests, and the multi-day campaign remains underway.

The renewed counterterrorism drive follows Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's recent visit to the United States, where talks centered on expanding cooperation against IS remnants entrenched in Syria's eastern desert and rural areas. Enditem