Syrian security forces dismantle several ISIS terror cells

DAMASCUS, Syria / ANKARA

Syria’s Interior Ministry said Monday that it had dismantled several ISIS (Daesh) terrorist cells in the Damascus countryside in southwestern Syria.

Hussam al-Tahan, the internal security chief of Damascus countryside, said the cells were arrested on Sunday and weapons seized upon “accurate intelligence.”

He said intelligence showed that the cells were active in the Western Ghouta areas, including Al-Kiswah, Deir Khabyah, Al-Maqiliba, and Zakiyah.

He added that multiple cell members were arrested in the operation, without specifying their number, while weapons, explosives, and suicide vests were seized.

The Syrian security official said the ISIS terrorists were "planning to use these weapons and explosives to destabilize the region."

Since ousting the former Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria last year, the Syrian security forces have been cracking down on elements involved in terror activities, whether from the former regime forces or militants of terrorist groups.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in January.