Syrian security forces raid Islamic State hideouts in Aleppo
An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Syrian security forces raided Islamic State hideouts in Aleppo on Saturday and three militants were killed, authorities said, the first time the Islamist-led government has announced such an operation against the jihadist group in Syria's second city.
A member of the security forces was also killed, and four Islamic State militants were detained during the raids, Interior Ministry statements said. The security forces seized weapons, bombs and uniforms with the security forces' insignia.
A security source said the raids had targeted sleeper cells in four locations, and 10 people had been arrested. The source said that one of the Islamic State militants had blown himself up during the operation.
Syria's interim President
Ahmed al-Sharaa
, who once led a branch of al Qaeda, has long been an adversary of Islamic State, and battled the group's self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war.
U.S. President
Donald Trump
met Sharaa earlier this week, and praised him as an 'attractive guy with a very strong past' after the encounter in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Trump also declared the United States would lift sanctions, a major U.S. policy shift that should help revive the
shattered economy
and marked a major boost for Sharaa.
Sharaa seized power in Damascus in December after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016.
Islamic State controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the height of its power, before being beaten out of the territory by enemies including a U.S.-led military alliance.
In January, the Syrian authorities announced they had foiled an attack by Islamic State on the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a Damascus suburb, a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi'ites, and had arrested
members of the cell
.
Islamic State militants
killed five members
of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria last month, in one of their deadliest attacks in a while.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ya Libnan
13 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Musk calls president Aoun over Lebanon communication, internet sector
BEIRUT – Billionaire businessman Elon Musk and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun spoke by phone to discuss making elements of Musk's sprawling business empire available in Lebanon, a statement from Aoun's office said on Thursday. The statement said Musk called Aoun and 'expressed his interest in Lebanon and its telecommunications and internet sectors'. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Aoun invited Musk to visit Lebanon and said he was open to having Musk's companies present in the country, which ranks among the countries with the lowest internet speeds. The call came just weeks after Aoun and other top Lebanese officials met with Starlink's Global Director of Licensing and Development, Sam Turner, in Beirut for talks on providing satellite internet services in Lebanon. U.S. ambassador Lisa Johnson was pictured attending those meetings. The negotiations have prompted some pushback in Lebanon. Internet access in the country has so far been operated exclusively by state-owned companies and their affiliates, who are lobbying the government not to license Starlink. Starlink recently received licenses to operate in India and Lesotho . (Reuters)
Ya Libnan
20 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Iran mourns its top military commanders and scientists killed by Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Tehran- Mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran's capital Tehran at a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month's war with Israel. At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Their coffins were driven into Tehran's Azadi Square adorned with their pictures as well as rose petals and flowers, as crowds waved Iranian flags. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display. State TV said the funeral, dubbed the 'funeral procession of the Martyrs of Power', was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children. Attending the funeral were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said its war against regional rival Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons. Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, which carries out inspections in Iran, has said it has 'no credible indication' of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran. A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists during the war. According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the 12-day war, 13 of them children and 49 women, before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured. Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians. Israel's health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured. Reuters
Ya Libnan
20 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Trump would consider bombing Iran again, drops sanctions relief plan
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland PHOTO: 'I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH,' President Trump said about Iran's leader. HIGHLIGHTS WASHINGTON— U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei, on Friday, dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. Trump reacted sternly to Khamanei's first remarks after a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended when the United States launched bombing raids last weekend against Iranian nuclear sites. Khamanei said Iran 'slapped America in the face' by launching an attack against a major U.S. base in Qatar following the U.S. bombing raids. Khamanei also said Iran would never surrender. Trump said he had spared Khamanei's life. U.S. officials told Reuters on June 15 that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader. 'His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,' Trump said in a social media post. 'I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH,' he said. Iran said a potential nuclear deal was conditional on the U.S. ending its 'disrespectful tone' toward the Supreme Leader. 'If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers,' Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X in the early hours of Saturday. Trump also said that in recent days he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions on Iran to give it a chance for a speedy recovery. He said he had now abandoned that effort. 'I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,' he said. Trump said at a White House news conference that he did not rule out attacking Iran again, when asked about the possibility of new bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if deemed necessary at some point. 'Sure, without question, absolutely,' he said. Trump said he would like inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N. nuclear watchdog – or another respected source to be able to inspect Iran's nuclear sites after they were bombed last weekend. Trump has rejected any suggestion that damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said. The IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday that ensuring the resumption of IAEA inspections was his top priority as none had taken place since Israel began bombing on June 13. However, Iran's parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections. Araqchi indicated on Friday that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the agency for visits to Iranian nuclear sites. Trump said Iran still wants to meet about the way forward. The White House had said on Thursday that no meeting between the U.S. and an Iranian delegation has been scheduled thus far. (Reuters)
