Syrian security forces arrested a nine-member cell affiliated to ISIS in Quneitra on Sunday, the state news agency Sana has reported.
“This operation is part of ongoing efforts to pursue members of the organisation and cut off its supply lines,” it said. The cell was collecting weapons and transporting explosives, Sana reported.
The Interior Ministry said its Internal Security Forces arrested the cell's leader, Musab Khalil Al Sheikh, known as “Al Sini” which translates as “the Chinese man”.
The ministry said he was active in Damascus and surrounding areas. “He worked within a group affiliated with Abu Abdul Rahman Al Iraqi, a leader of the organisation at the time, who was killed in Deraa in 2022,” the ministry said in a statement.
The arrests took place in Khan Arnabeh, in Syria's south, where Israeli forces also regularly carry out raids and detain people.
Security forces in Syria have been intensifying crackdowns on remnants of the terrorist group. They said they had “neutralised” two ISIS members who were allegedly attempting to cause an explosion in the largely Shiite Sayyida Zeinab area of Damascus.
The Syrian government that took over in late 2024 has made assurances to world powers that it can keep extremists at bay, despite the militant background of President Ahmad Al Shara and the wider leadership cadre. Mr Al Shara has sought to demonstrate that his government is a reliable security partner, particularly in the fight against ISIS. Syrian authorities have increased co-ordination with US-led coalition forces on counterterrorism operations, sharing intelligence and conducting raids.
ISIS continues to pose “a serious threat to international peace and security” despite years of global counterterrorism efforts, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday. Briefing the UN Security Council on the Secretary General's 23rd report on the threat posed by ISIS, Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, of the UN Office of Counterterrorism, said the militant group had adapted to military pressure by relying on resilient regional affiliates operating across conflict zones.
“While sustained counterterrorism operations have disrupted Daesh's senior leadership and reduced its ability to direct operations centrally, the group has continued to adapt,” she said. Ms Niyazberdiyeva added that ISIS remained resilient and “continues to exploit fragile security environments and protracted armed conflicts”.
The closure of Al Hol camp in February has raised further security concerns as the whereabouts of thousands of people who were once held there remains unclear, she said.
ISIS attacks against Syrian government forces have risen sharply in 2026 – from 16 last year to 52 in the first half of this year – the conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled) said.
The rise is linked to an anti-ISIS campaign launched by the government, triggered by an attack on US troops in Palmyra in December last year, in which a member of the Syrian security forces opened fire during a joint patrol, killing two US soldiers and a US interpreter.
Attacks have hit checkpoints, patrols and security centres.
The Syrian leadership, which came to power after the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime in December 2024, has its origins in the country’s Islamist insurgency. It evolved from Jabhat Al Nusra, Al Qaeda’s former affiliate in Syria, to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS).
