Syria
Syrian security forces in an operation against suspected ISIS militants in Idlib on August 7, 2025. Photo: SANA
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s interior ministry said on Thursday that security forces arrested a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) cell in the northwestern Idlib province, accused of assassinating five Iraqi nationals.
“The operation resulted in the complete dismantling of the terrorist cell, as it was revealed that its members were involved in carrying out assassinations” against five Iraqi nationals, Idlib security chief Ghassan Mohammed Bakir said, as cited by the state-run SANA news agency.
During the operation, a weapons depot containing explosive vests, bombs, sniper rifles, machine guns, and mortar shells was seized.
“A workshop dedicated to manufacturing and detonating explosives” was also located, according to Bakir.
ISIS attacks in Syria have largely been focused on the Kurdish-held regions of north and east Syria, but attacks in areas held by the new Damascus-affiliated authorities remain rare.
In June, a deadly bombing struck the Mar Elias Church in Damascus during Sunday mass. Two assailants opened fire on worshippers before detonating an explosive vest, killing 25 people and injuring 63 others. Damascus blamed ISIS for the attack.
ISIS rose to power and swept through swathes of Syria in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
But the militants were territorially defeated in 2019 as local Syrian and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, clawed back territory from the group.
ISIS has continued to carry out attacks on Kurdish-led forces. On Wednesday, two Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters were killed in an ISIS attack in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province.
Kurdish-led forces are also intensifying their counter-ISIS raids. A senior ISIS operative was captured in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka city on Wednesday, in an operation with support from the US-led global coalition.
“The operation resulted in the complete dismantling of the terrorist cell, as it was revealed that its members were involved in carrying out assassinations” against five Iraqi nationals, Idlib security chief Ghassan Mohammed Bakir said, as cited by the state-run SANA news agency.
During the operation, a weapons depot containing explosive vests, bombs, sniper rifles, machine guns, and mortar shells was seized.
“A workshop dedicated to manufacturing and detonating explosives” was also located, according to Bakir.
ISIS attacks in Syria have largely been focused on the Kurdish-held regions of north and east Syria, but attacks in areas held by the new Damascus-affiliated authorities remain rare.
In June, a deadly bombing struck the Mar Elias Church in Damascus during Sunday mass. Two assailants opened fire on worshippers before detonating an explosive vest, killing 25 people and injuring 63 others. Damascus blamed ISIS for the attack.
ISIS rose to power and swept through swathes of Syria in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
But the militants were territorially defeated in 2019 as local Syrian and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, clawed back territory from the group.
ISIS has continued to carry out attacks on Kurdish-led forces. On Wednesday, two Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters were killed in an ISIS attack in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province.
Kurdish-led forces are also intensifying their counter-ISIS raids. A senior ISIS operative was captured in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka city on Wednesday, in an operation with support from the US-led global coalition.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment