Syrian officials said late Thursday the country had captured an ISIS-linked cell responsible for two bomb blasts during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Damascus earlier this week. In a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Macron said we must "not let ourselves be destabilized" by such attacks, and the two leaders vowed to boost ties with new ambassadors to be installed in each country. Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab said that "the cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our custody". "Once the investigations are completed, we will reveal to the public the identities of the cell's members, their roles, and all of their affiliations and connections," he wrote on X. Ahmad Dalati, head of interior security for the Damascus region, said on Syrian state television that preliminary investigations indicated "the cell was affiliated with the ISIS group". The interior ministry said in a statement that the cell had been captured following a series of raids "carried out at the same time against the suspects' different locations across Damascus and its countryside". The statement said the raids occurred in four neighborhoods. Two blasts hit central Damascus on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding dozens during the French president's first visit to Syria. The explosives had been planted near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Macron had spent the night, with Syria's interior ministry saying one was placed in a garbage container and the other in a vehicle near the hotel in the heart of the capital.
