Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria – Syrian Internal Security Forces, affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, arrested former members and active cells of Iranian-backed factions during a security operation late Sunday in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, near the Iraqi border.
A security source told +963 that the operation focused on the city of Al-Bukamal, in eastern Syria located on the Euphrates river in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate and near the border with Iraq, where three former fighters from Iran-backed groups were detained. The security campaign expanded to the town of Al-Hari, where five additional members of affiliated cells were arrested.
According to the source, security forces also detained eight former fighters across various areas in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
Weapons, ammunition, and mobile devices containing evidence of ongoing communication with former commanders of Iran-backed factions were seized during the raids. Initial investigations suggest these groups were coordinating with cross-border networks.
The source emphasized that the arrests followed extensive intelligence gathering, surveillance, and analysis of the suspects’ activities and movements.
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Additional military and security reinforcements have been deployed to Deir ez-Zor amid a growing threat posed by remnants of Iran-backed cells that continue to destabilize the region.
Last week, Internal Security Forces launched a separate security operation in the eastern countryside, following numerous local complaints regarding armed groups, drug trafficking, and the refusal of some former regime-aligned militants to comply with reconciliation efforts.
The security source revealed that dozens of Iranian-affiliated cells remain active in the province and have recently intensified their activities in an apparent attempt to disrupt the Syrian-Iraqi border area, likely serving Iranian strategic interests in coordination with factions inside Iraq.
A curfew has been imposed in Al-Mayadin and Al-Bukamal as part of the security campaign. Among those arrested was Omar Al-Khaled, a former commander in the Russian-backed Fifth Corps from the town of Subaykhan, who had previously undergone the government’s reconciliation process.
