Authorities announce arrest of ISIS members near Damascus

Syrian authorities announced Monday that they have dismantled a heavily armed cell of the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) that was preparing to carry out attacks in an area near Damascus.

In a statement, the Syrian Interior Ministry indicated that "several members of a terrorist cell affiliated with the organization Da'esh [Arabic acronym for ISIS]" were arrested Sunday in western Ghouta, on the outskirts of the capital.

The head of internal security for the Damascus region, Brigadier General Houssam al-Tahan, specified that they were "in possession of light, medium and heavy weapons," including "anti-tank missile launchers ... and explosive belts they intended to use to destabilize ... the region." Their arrest comes about ten days after security forces reported arresting several ISIS cell members in Aleppo, the country's second city. One security force member and three jihadists were killed in the operation.

Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, ISIS attacks have decreased in areas controlled by the new Islamist authorities. However, while the jihadist group was defeated in Syria in 2019 by Kurdish forces with the support of an international coalition, it maintains cells that continue to notably attack Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on May 14 in Saudi Arabia, called on him to "help the United States prevent a resurgence of ISIS."