Syria Arrests IS-Linked Cell Behind July 7 Damascus Bombings During Macron Visit

Syrian authorities said they arrested the cell responsible for the July 7 Damascus bombings, with Interior Security head Ahmad Dalati telling Syrian state television on Thursday that preliminary investigations showed the cell was affiliated with the IS group.

“Syria says it arrested IS-linked suspects behind the Damascus bombings Syrian authorities have arrested several suspects linked to recent explosions in Damascus, including bombings during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syrian authorities said on Thursday they have arrested several suspects accused of a string of recent explosions in Damascus, including the bombings during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit earlier this week”

ABC News

Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency that “The cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our custody,” as raids were carried out across four neighbourhoods in Damascus and its surrounding countryside.

ABC News

The bombings came as French President Emmanuel Macron visited Damascus, with two explosions on Tuesday killing one person and wounding 36 others, and a previous week’s cafe bombing killing 10 people and wounding 21.

The attacks were described as targeting areas including Al-Qatifah, Sayyidah Zaynab, the Qudsaya suburb, and 'Ush al-Warawir, according to Syria’s Interior Ministry posts and its account of simultaneous raids.

Macron said after the blasts, “We must at once stand alongside those who have been injured, continue to be uncompromising on security… but not let ourselves be destabilised.”

Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed in an X/Twitter post on Thursday that those behind the string of recent explosions in Damascus, including the bombings during Macron’s visit, have been arrested.

Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced in a post on X, “The cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our grasp,” while the ministry said it dismantled the entire terrorist cell through “a complex security operation and precise intelligence follow-up.”

Al Jazeera

Brig. Gen. Ahmad al-Dalati, head of internal security for the Damascus countryside, told Syrian state-run Ekhbariya TV that investigators identified one member of the cell with security camera footage and then tracked him to identify the other suspects.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli public broadcaster KAN News, citing a Syrian security source, said the cell belonged to Islamic State (ISIS), while the Interior Ministry said ISIS had not claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Macron continued his meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa unharmed after the blasts, and the Jerusalem Post said the explosion struck a crowded area between the Syrian tourism ministry and the national museum across from the Four Seasons hotel.

After the arrests, Syrian authorities said they uncovered an explosives cache, with AFP reporting that the Interior Ministry said “intensive investigations with members of the terrorist cell” allowed authorities to find “a secret cache the cell had designated for storing explosives in preparation for a series of terrorist attacks.”

AFP also reported that the raids occurred in four neighbourhoods, and that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said dozens were arrested in the working-class Ish al-Warwar suburb.

The explosions were the second in the Syrian capital this month, following a bombing in a Damascus cafe on July 2 that killed 10 people, and the France 24 report said the devices were described as “primitive” by the Interior Ministry.

The National | Western Alternative said the July 7 blasts occurred during Macron’s visit and described the devices as “primitive,” while also citing Interior minister Annas Khattab’s announcement that the suspected attack killed one person and injured 36, mostly members of Syria's Internal Security Forces.

Syria’s Interior Ministry also said it continued dismantling ISIS cells, announcing the arrest of prominent operative Firas Al Dagher, described in the sources as a former personal aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi and detained alongside other “key figures” in the group.