Syrian intelligence says it foiled Islamic State attack on Shiite shrine | World News

– Syria’s intelligence agency has foiled an attack by the Islamic State group on the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a Damascus suburb, a mass pilgrimage site for Shiites, state news agency Sana reported Saturday.

It said members of the cell were arrested before they could trigger an explosion inside the shrine.

The foiled attack will fuel fears that the Islamic State is hoping to make a comeback in Syria after toppling President Bashar al-Assad last month.

Some Syrians and foreign powers fear the country’s new leaders, who belong to the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which ousted Assad on December 8, a country with numerous minority groups such as Druze, Kurds, Christians and Shiites.

But Syria’s de facto government’s announcement that it has foiled an attack on Shiite Muslims comes amid assurances that it will protect religious minorities.

“The General Intelligence Directorate is using all its resources to counter any attempts to target the Syrian people in all their diversity,” an intelligence official told Sana.

Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group, has claimed previous attacks in and around the shrine, including last year and a bombing in 2017 that killed at least 40 people.

The Prophet Mohammad’s granddaughter, Sayeda Zeinab, is revered by Shiite Muslims and the mosque and shrine 10 kilometers south of Damascus attracts Shiite pilgrims from across the region.

Defense of the shrine had been a call during Syria’s 13-year civil war, drawing Shiite militiamen from across the region to support former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But Assad’s ouster last month has significantly weakened the position of Shiite forces in Syria, including Iran and the Tehran-allied Lebanese group Hezbollah.

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