Shafaq News – Idlib

Security forces in Syria's northwestern Idlib province arrested an Islamic State (ISIS) cell during a joint operation in the Harem area, authorities announced on Thursday.

According to a statement by the Interior Ministry, the ISIS-affiliated group was involved in the assassination of five Iraqi nationals in multiple locations across western and northern Idlib.

The suspects have been transferred to the Counterterrorism Directorate for further investigation and will be referred to the judiciary upon completion of the legal procedures.

The statement added that the security forces seized a cache of weapons and explosives during the raid, including explosive vests, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), sniper rifles, light machine guns, mortar shells, and materials used in bomb-making. A workshop reportedly used for manufacturing explosive devices was also discovered and shut down.

Brigadier General Ghassan Mohammad Bakir, Head of the Internal Security Command in Idlib, stated that the operation successfully dismantled the entire ISIS cell. “The cell was responsible for a series of targeted killings, including three assassinations in the city of Salqin, one in Azmarin, and another in the village of Kaftin in northern Idlib—all Iraqi victims.”