Syria's Interior Ministry announced Saturday that its counter-terrorism directorate, in cooperation with the internal security command around Damascus, had thwarted a bomb plot targeting a religious figure near a Maronite church in the Bab Touma district of the capital, and has linked the cell to Hezbollah.
Preliminary investigations revealed links between the cell and Hezbollah © SANA
Syria's Interior Ministry announced Saturday that its counter-terrorism directorate, in cooperation with the internal security command around Damascus, had thwarted a bomb plot targeting a religious figure near a Maronite church in the Bab Touma district of the capital, and has linked the cell to Hezbollah.
According to the ministry, surveillance of suspicious movements in Damascus led to the operation.
Specialised units spotted a woman planting an explosive device outside the residence of a religious figure near the Maronite church. The device was successfully defused before detonation, with no casualties or damage reported. All five members of the cell have been arrested.
Preliminary investigations revealed links between the cell and Hezbollah, Lebanon's Iran-backed armed group. "Cell members received specialised military training abroad, including skills in planting explosive devices," the ministry stated. Investigations are ongoing to uncover the full circumstances of the plot and identify all parties involved. Damascus has warned of "zero tolerance" for acts threatening national stability.
The alleged plot carries a significance that extends well beyond the incident itself.
It serves as a stark reminder that Hezbollah, despite the dramatic fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which for decades served as the group's most critical land bridge to Lebanon, remains active and operational on Syrian soil.
Assad's overthrow was widely seen as a devastating blow to Hezbollah's regional influence. Yet this latest episode suggests the group has retained networks, capabilities and ambitions inside Syria, and is prepared to use them to destabilise the new authorities in Damascus.
Syria and Russia reached a memorandum of understanding to settle the future of Russian bases at Tartous and Hmeimim following 18 months of intensive negotiations, the Syrian foreign ministry said on Sunday, according to the Syrian state news agency.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation Thursday that would authorize up to $1.2 billion in security assistance to Lebanon over five years, with part of the funding conditioned on Beirut's progress toward a state monopoly on arms and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Lebanon and Israel have agreed a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah under a U.S.-brokered agreement, a Lebanese official said on Friday, with the United States due to pick countries from the list.
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