Syrian authorities foiled an attempt by ISIS to blow up a revered Shia shrine in a Damascus suburb, a source within Syria’s intelligence agency told state news agency SANA Saturday.
Intelligence and security forces “succeeded in thwarting an attempt by IS to carry out a bombing inside the Sayyida Zaynab shrine,” the source said.
The interior ministry posted pictures of four men it identified as members of an ISIS cell, arrested in the countryside outside the capital.
It published images of equipment allegedly seized from the suspects, including smartphones, two rifles, three explosive devices and several hand grenades.
The photos showed the identity papers of two Lebanese and a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon.
Iran-backed guards used to be deployed the gates of the Sayyeda Zaynab mausoleum, Syria’s most visited Shia pilgrimage site.
But they fled shortly before the opposition last month swept into the Syrian capital, toppling president Bashar al-Assad.
Iran-backed fighters had been key supporters of al-Assad since the civil war broke out in 2011.
Shia shrines are a frequent target of attacks by Sunni extremists of ISIS, both in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
ISIS previously targeted the Damascus shrine, claiming a July 2023 bombing that killed at least six people near the mausoleum.
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