Syria Announces Arrest of Senior Islamic State Leader
The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced Thursday the arrest of a senior leader in the Islamic State group (IS) during a tightly coordinated security operation carried out in cooperation between specialized units of the ministry and the General Intelligence Directorate, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance security and stability and combat terrorism in the country.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a statement published on the X platform that the operation resulted in the arrest of a person known within the organization by the title “general military official of the Levant province,” noting that the detainee is considered one of the most dangerous leaders involved in planning terrorist operations and targeting military and security sites in recent months.
Khattab explained that the operation was carried out following precise intelligence monitoring over several months, during which field information was collected, enabling security agencies to determine the leader’s location and arrest him without any losses among forces or civilians.
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A security spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Interior told The Media Line that the security services “deal with the counterterrorism file as a top national priority,” stressing that the arrest of this leader “constitutes a significant blow to the leadership structure of IS within Syrian territory.”
Preliminary investigations indicate the detainee’s involvement in managing logistical networks and sleeper cells, in addition to supervising recruitment operations and the transfer of fighters between several areas, noting that the information obtained will contribute to dismantling more terrorist cells in the coming phase, the spokesperson added. In recent weeks, the Interior Ministry dismantled a terrorist cell consisting of seven members in the Daraya area south of Damascus. The cell was led by an individual directly linked to the arrested leader. He confirmed that preemptive operations will continue to prevent any attempts to undermine security.
In late December, there was a notable escalation in IS activity, during which the group carried out sporadic attacks targeting military sites in several governorates, resulting in deaths and injuries among Syrian forces and international coalition forces.
The spokesperson confirmed that coordination is ongoing with international coalition forces in exchanging intelligence and carrying out joint operations against the group’s sites in desert areas, particularly in Homs, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa, stressing that “Syria is proceeding with its battle against terrorism until all its hotspots are eliminated.”
He concluded his statement by emphasizing that the security services “will not tolerate any threat that affects the security of citizens” and called on the local community to report any suspicious movements.
This operation came within the framework of intensified cooperation between Syrian security agencies and international coalition forces, especially after the escalation of attacks carried out by the group in late December, which led to losses among Syrian and US forces and prompted strikes on the group’s sites in the deserts of Homs, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa.
