Syria says it arrested IS commander Hamza Mohammad

Syrian authorities said Tuesday that security forces and unnamed international partners arrested Hamza Abdullah Mohammad, an Islamic State commander also known as Abu Jihad al-Muhajir, near Manbij in Aleppo province.

Syria's interior ministry described Mohammad as a prominent IS military leader. It said he had served as a general commander for the group in the Damascus region, had formerly been a deputy military commander and had been in charge of Idlib province for the group.

The ministry said the operation was part of efforts to pursue IS cells and leaders, dismantle their networks and prevent attempts to regroup.

Islamic State once controlled large areas of Syria and Iraq and was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019. Remnants remain in Syria, particularly in desert areas, and the group occasionally claims attacks, mainly against Syrian security forces.

Last month, Syria accused IS of being behind a Damascus bombing during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, near a hotel where he spent the night, and said authorities arrested the cell responsible. Syria's government, which ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined a US-led coalition against IS last year.