...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS) cells across several provinces, the Syrian interior ministry announced Saturday.
Are they really ISIS, or just the usual enemies of the state — in this case, what used to be known as Al Nusra?
The operation, expected to continue for several days, began just two days before Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to meet US President Donald Trump...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
at the White House.
The operation included "61 raids and 71 arrests in various Syrian provinces, targeting ammunition and weapons depots as well as dens containing explosives belonging to the organization," said Nour al-Din al-Baba, spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry, as cited by the state-run al-Ikhbariya channel.
Significant achievements so far include the capture of senior ISIS leader Abd al-Ilah al-Jumaili, known as Abu Imad al-Jumaili - a development Baba described as a "strong blow" that will limit the group’s field activity - along with the arrest of "a suicide cell" in northern Aleppo province.
Really? Usually they tell us the role of named big turbans.
Underscoring the "preemptive" nature of the campaign, the ministry’s spokesperson said ISIS cells were involved in serious crimes, including the liquidation of a citizen in the Kurdish-majority city of Afrin in northwest Syria, the targeting of a money exchanger, and multiple acts of kidnapping and murder.These plots, he added, aimed to target government figures and various Syrian communities in an effort to "disrupt civil peace and foster fear."
Earlier in the day, the interior ministry said in a post on X that it had "launched a large-scale security operation in several provinces to pursue cells of the ISIS terrorist organization," adding that the operation is being conducted "in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service" and is "based on accurate intelligence gathered through systematic monitoring and tracking of suspicious movements."
The ministry stated that the campaign, "which falls within the framework of continuous efforts to combat terrorism and counter plots aimed at undermining security," targets "ISIS hideouts in several areas" and involves "pursuing hidden members" of the bully boy group. The operation "will continue for several consecutive days."
According to the statement, the operation has so far "resulted in the dismantling of several terrorist cells, the arrest of numerous wanted individuals, and the seizure of materials and evidence linking them to terrorist activities." The ministry added that the campaign reaffirms the firm commitment of Syrian security authorities "to protecting the nation’s security and stability."
In a series of posts on X, the ministry also shared photos purporting to show raids carried out across the provinces of Aleppo, as well as in the northwestern Idlib, central Homs, and southwestern Rif Dimashq provinces.
Importantly, the large-scale security campaign comes just two days before Syrian interim President Sharaa is scheduled to be hosted by US President Trump at the White House on Monday, amid reports that he will sign an agreement to join the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
The visit will mark "the first visit by a Syrian president to the White House in 80 years," according to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. In a speech last week, Shaibani added the visit would help open a "new chapter" in relations between Damascus and Washington and would include discussions "beginning with the lifting of sanctions."
Sharaa’s visit also comes just days after the lifting of sanctions against him by the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
Security Council (UNSC), the United States and the United Kingdom, with the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
expected to follow suit.
Washington and London have likewise lifted sanctions on Syria’s Interior Minister Anas Khattab, according to statements on their official websites. Sharaa and Khattab had previously been subject to financial sanctions over alleged links to ISIS and al-Qaeda.