Syria said on Sunday that its forces had arrested four leaders and several members of an ISIS group cell that was planning attacks. Security and intelligence forces "dismantled a cell affiliated with the ISIS terrorist organization that was involved in carrying out kidnappings, planting explosive devices, and assassinations", state television reported the internal security forces as saying. "Four leaders of the cell", the statement said, were arrested in north Syria's Raqqa "alongside a number of its members in Aleppo, Idlib and Homs". The cell was also "planning terrorist acts targeting the security and stability of the region", it said, adding that explosives, weapons and ammunition were seized in the "pre-emptive operation", with investigations ongoing. Last year, Syria's new authorities, who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined a US-led coalition against ISIS. The authorities have faced significant security challenges, and regularly announce the arrest of ISIS commanders or members, including the capture last month of an extremist commander in the country's north. Once in control of swathes of Syria and Iraq, ISIS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, but remnants of the group are still present there, particularly in the country's vast desert. The group occasionally claims attacks, mainly targeting Syrian security forces. Syria has blamed the extremists for bomb blasts in July during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. Authorities said they had arrested the cell responsible.
