Syria cracks down on ISIS as authorities seek closer US ties
Syrian security troops have commenced operations to “eradicate” ISIS from urban centres, an Interior Ministry official told The National on Sunday, a day after a counter-terrorism raid in Aleppo killed three ISIS members.
A statement by the ministry said one security personnel and three ISIS members were killed in the operation in the eastern Jazmatiyeh district on Saturday. It led to the biggest clashes between the authorities and ISIS since Bashar Al Assad was removed last year. At least three ISIS members were arrested.
Fighting against the extremist group is crucial for the current leadership to garner US support, especially after a breakthrough meeting last week between President Donald Trump and Syrian leader Ahmad Al Shara, who previously had ties to Al Qaeda. Mr Trump said the US would lift sanctions on Syria to help usher in stability under the new authorities in Damascus.
The official said the Aleppo operation was part of a wider, undisclosed security effort against ISIS. The group, he said, had infiltrated other cities.
“These are targeted, intelligence-driven operations,” the official said, without elaborating. “They will be eradicated.”
Photos published by the ministry on Sunday showed three bearded men in prison jump suits whom it said were the arrested ISIS members. Weapons and suicide bomb vests in their possession were seized, the statement said, adding that the cell was planning “terrorist actions” against security troops.
A US-led fight that started in 2014 has significantly diminished ISIS in Syria. But the group retains pockets, mostly in the eastern Syrian Desert. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has been the main ground component in the US supervised war against the group. However, the SDF agreed in March to integrate into the new state, although no noticeable steps have been taken.
Bitter differences remain within Damascus on the framework the political system the country should have.
The former regime had lost control of large parts of Syria during the 2011 to 2024 civil war. But it retained Aleppo, Damascus, and other main cities until an offensive in December led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham toppled the Assad regime. HTS, a group that was formerly aligned with Al Qaeda, is led by Mr Al Shara.
ISIS fought against both the Assad regime and anti-regime rebels, including militant religious Sunni groups who regarded ISIS as an ideological foe.
In January, the authorities said security troops arrested members of an ISIS cell who had thwarted a plan by ISIS to bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.
On Saturday, Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani told the Arab Summit in Baghdad that “activities of the remnants of” ISIS constitutes the paramount challenge to the country.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Mr Al Shibani on Thursday that it was too early to know whether Syria would comply with US demands as far as counter-terrorism and other issues.
