Syria arrests alleged ISIS commander over shrine attack plot

Authorities say suspect planned foiled bombing at Sayyeda Zeinab shrine near Damascus

Syria's General Security forces in Aleppo. AFP

Syrian authorities arrested an alleged senior ISIS commander for planning a foiled attack targeting Sayyeda Zeinab – a prominent Shiite shrine near Damascus – state media reported on Saturday.

Authorities arrested “Abu Al Hareth Al Iraqi, commander in the Daesh organisation”, said state news agency Sana, quoting an unidentified intelligence official and using the Arabic acronym for the group.

He was “behind the planning of a number of operations”, Sana reported, adding that “the cell that was thwarted in its plan to attack the Sayyida Zeinab shrine” was working under his direction.

In January, Syria's Intelligence Directorate foiled an attempt by ISIS to bomb the shrine. It said members of an ISIS cell were arrested before they could carry out an attack on the shrine, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.

The Interior Ministry posted pictures of four men it identified as members of the cell who were arrested in the countryside outside the capital.

It published images of equipment allegedly seized from the suspects, including smartphones, two rifles, what appeared to be three explosive devices and several hand grenades.

It was the first time the new authorities in Damascus said they foiled an ISIS attack.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the suspect arrested is an Iraqi national who was “one of the second-tier commanders” in the militant group, spending recent years in the Badia desert.

The shrine used to be under the protection of Iran-backed guards who fled in December after rebels toppled the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad.

Shiite shrines have been frequent targets of attacks by ISIS, both in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. The Sunni extremist group claimed a bombing that killed at least six people near the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine in July 2023.

ISIS seized large areas of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border “caliphate” in 2014.