Syria says cell leader arrested over 3 security deaths

Syrian authorities said Saturday they arrested Walid al-Fallah, described as one of the main leaders of a cell involved in the deaths of three security force personnel in Al-Sanamein, in the southern province of Daraa.

State news agency SANA reported that internal security forces in Daraa province made the arrest. A local government official had told AFP that the security force members were killed while trying to arrest a member of the Islamic State group.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the anti-jihadist operation led to five arrests and had dismantled criminal cells and others linked to IS that were coordinating with each other.

IS has been territorially defeated in Syria but maintains sleeper cells. It continues to periodically claim attacks against government forces, particularly in the desert region and in northern and northeastern Syria.

The group had previously been established in Daraa province, where its leader Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in October 2022 in clashes with local gunmen. Syria's new authorities, who overthrew Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined the US-led international coalition against IS last year.