Syrian forces dismantle 'Hezbollah-affiliated cell' in Damascus suburb

BEIRUT — Syrian security forces said Thursday they dismantled a "Hezbollah-affiliated cell" accused of plotting "operations" in Syria, according to the state-run SANA news agency. The move is the latest in the new authorities' efforts against the group since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The Internal Security Forces said the cell had been operating in the towns of Saassaa and Kanaker, about 30 km southwest of the capital. The announcement included a photo showing five detained suspects. The statement cited Brig. Gen. Ahmad Dalati, the Damascus provincial security commander, who reported that the group had planned to "carry out operations on Syrian territory to threaten the country's security and stability."

Hezbollah, once a close ally of the Assad regime, entered Syria’s war in 2013 to help government forces battle rebels, two years after the popular uprising and the start of the Syrian Civil War. Former President Bashar al-Assad was eventually toppled in a lightning offensive led by the jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaeda. Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the now-disbanded group, rose to power in Assad’s place. Sharaa, Syria’s new president, said in late August he had made "concessions over the wounds Hezbollah had inflicted" in the country and no longer wished to fight the group.

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Rockets and anti-tank missiles seized

In the statement, the Syrian authorities said the alleged members had "received training in camps located on Lebanese territory." Security forces seized weapons during raids, including rocket "launchers, 19 Grad-type rockets, anti-tank missiles, as well as individual weapons and large quantities of ammunition."

The investigation remains ongoing, police said.

Since Sharaa took power in December 2024, Syrian authorities have repeatedly announced weapons seizures reportedly "destined for Hezbollah." The group’s supply lines — which once ran from Iran to Lebanon through Assad’s Syria — have been cut, further weakening the group. Hezbollah, already battered by the 2023–2024 war with Israel and near-daily Israeli strikes in south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, is now also facing a Syrian government pledge to disarm it.