Syria foils ISIS bomb plot near Sayyida Zainab

Shafaq News- Damascus

On Friday, Syrian security forces killed two suspected ISIS militants who were allegedly planting a roadside bomb near the Sayyida Zainab district on the outskirts of Damascus.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the suspects opened fire after officers approached them during a night patrol, triggering a gun battle. Authorities said they recovered an improvised explosive device and weapons from the scene.

The Sayyida Zainab district is home to the shrine of Sayyida Zainab, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites. The area has repeatedly been targeted by ISIS and other extremist groups because of its religious significance.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported earlier that the group carried out 67 attacks across the country between the start of 2026 and early August, causing military and civilian casualties. ISIS lost its last territorial stronghold in Baghouz in eastern Syria in 2019 but continues to stage attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in central and eastern parts of the country.