Idlib, northwest Syria – The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that its Internal Security Forces arrested members of the Islamic State (ISIS) during a security operation in the countryside of Idlib, northwestern Syria.
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the ministry said that the Special Missions Unit of the Internal Security Command in Idlib province, in cooperation with the General Intelligence Directorate, carried out a precise security operation in the Harem area in western Idlib countryside.
The operation resulted in the arrest of a terrorist cell affiliated with ISIS, comprising nine members, according to the ministry.
The ministry added that the cell members were involved in a series of assassinations that targeted five Iraqi nationals.
The detainees were transferred to the Counterterrorism Directorate to complete investigations before being referred to the competent judiciary.
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Earlier in July, one internal security officer was killed, and several others were injured during clashes with an ISIS cell in the town of Binnish in Idlib countryside. At the time, our correspondent reported that the confrontation resulted in multiple casualties among security personnel.
In late May, the Interior Ministry also announced the dismantling of an ISIS cell in the Damascus countryside. The ministry said a “high-level security operation” conducted by Internal Security in Western Ghouta led to the arrest of several ISIS cell members.
Authorities also discovered explosive devices, suicide vests, weapons, and various types of ammunition at the group’s hideouts in the Damascus suburbs.
