Syrian forces raid ‘ISIS hideout’ in Damascus amid broader crackdown

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian security forces on Wednesday raided an Islamic State (ISIS) hideout in the northwestern part of Damascus, the country’s interior ministry said, adding that the operation led to the seizure of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and “suicide drones,” among other things.

In a statement on X, the ministry said its security units, in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, carried out a “precise operation” targeting an ISIS hideout in the Dummar neighborhood of Damascus.

“The operation resulted in the arrest of an individual linked to the terrorist group,” the statement said, adding that “security forces further seized ready-to-use improvised explosive devices (IEDs), various weapons and ammunition, suicide drones, and explosive materials used to equip the drones for detonation.”

“The operation confirms the capability of the security services to deal with terrorist threats and to safeguard the security and stability of the country and its citizens,” the ministry affirmed.

The raid comes as Syrian forces have in recent days appeared to step up their crackdown on ISIS elements in the country.

On Tuesday, Syrian internal security forces said they had “dismantled an ISIS terrorist cell” that is “responsible for several attacks targeting security and military patrols across the Idlib and Aleppo provinces” in northwestern and northern Syria, respectively.

Last week, four members of the Syrian security forces were killed and another was injured in an armed attack in the Ma’arat al-Nu’man district of Idlib province, Syrian state media reported.

“Following the terrorist attack on the security patrol in the Ma’arat al-Nu’man area, our specialized units intensified investigations and gathered precise field intelligence to identify the perpetrators,” a Tuesday statement from the interior ministry said, adding that security forces “captured three members of the cell while a fourth was neutralized.”

Syria officially joined the US-led coalition against ISIS in November, following a landmark meeting between US President Donald Trump and Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House - the first such encounter with a Syrian president in more than eight decades.

ISIS seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014 but was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq. The group has since continued to carry out insurgent attacks and has sought to regain lost ground.