The Syrian government claimed to have prevented IS members from bombing the Sayyida Zaynab mosque on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said today that the country’s intelligence and security forces had “stopped a plot by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) to bomb the Sayyida Zaynab mosque”.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior on the same day released images of four men suspected of being IS members arrested in the countryside on the outskirts of the capital Damascus. Photos of the suspects’ identification documents show that two are Lebanese citizens, and one suspect is a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon.
Two of the four IS suspects were captured in photos released on January 11. Image: A LOT
Authorities also posted photos of some of the devices seized with the suspects, including two rifles, cell phones, three explosive devices and several grenades.
This is the first time the new government in Syria announced that it had stopped an attack plot by IS.
Sayyeda Zeinab is one of the Shiite mosques with the most followers in Syria. Before the Bashar al-Assad government was overthrown late last year, this site was protected by pro-Iranian gunmen. However, they withdrew after a coalition led by the Sunni Muslim Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group took control of Damascus.
IS and a number of extremist armed groups in Syria and Iraq often carry out terrorist attacks against Shiite mosques. In July 2023, IS claimed responsibility for a bombing near the Sayyeda Zeinab mosque that left six people dead.
Weapons and personal belongings of a group of IS suspects were seized on the outskirts of Damascus. Image: A LOT
Despite no longer controlling any area, IS fighters continue to operate in Syria, repeatedly attacking and causing casualties to government troops or Kurdish forces, US allies in the country. The collapse of Mr. Assad’s government has significantly changed the situation in Syria, causing observers to worry about the possibility of IS taking advantage of this moment to rise.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he will support the new government in Syria to eliminate the IS organization, calling it a common threat to the entire region.