Syria thwarts planned Islamic State attack on Shiite shrine

DAMASCUS, SYRIA –

Intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government have foiled a plan by the Islamic State group to detonate a bomb on a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, state media reported Saturday.

The state news agency SANA, citing an unnamed General Intelligence Service official, reported that members of the IS cell that planned the attack had been arrested. It quoted the official as saying that the intelligence service was “using all its capabilities to withstand any attempts to target the Syrian people in all their facets.”

Sayyida Zeinab has been the site of attacks on Shiite pilgrims in the past by IS, which promotes an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and views Shiites as infidels.

In 2023, a motorcycle rigged with explosives exploded in Sayyida Zeinab, killing at least six people and injuring dozens a day before the Shiite holiday of Ashoura.

The announcement that the attack had been foiled appeared to be another attempt by the country’s new leadership to reassure religious minorities, including those seen as supporters of the previous government of Bashar al-Assad.

Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, was allied with Iran and the Shiite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, as well as Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the former insurgent group that led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad last month and is now the de facto ruling party in the country, is a Sunni Islamist group that once had ties to al-Qaeda.

The group later split from al-Qaeda, and HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has preached religious coexistence since coming to power in Damascus.

Relations with neighboring Lebanon

Also on Saturday, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived in Damascus to meet with al-Sharaa.

Relations between the two countries have been strained under Assad, with Lebanon’s political factions deeply divided between supporters and opponents of Assad’s rule.

Mikati told reporters after his meeting with al-Sharaa that the two countries will form a committee to work on demarcating the border, which has never been officially defined.

Mikati also said they will work together to combat smuggling at the porous border.

“Some issues at the border need to be fully controlled, especially at illegal border points, to stop any smuggling operations between Lebanon and Syria,” he said.

Chebaa Farms and the Golan Heights

A particularly sensitive issue is the area known as Chebaa Farms, which is controlled by Israel as part of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967 and subsequently annexed. Most of the international community considers the area occupied.

Beirut and Damascus say the Chebaa farms belong to Lebanon. The United Nations says the area belongs to Syria and that Damascus and Israel should negotiate its fate. The fact that the border between Lebanon and Syria was never clearly demarcated has further complicated matters.

Al-Sharaa did not give a clear answer to a question about the demarcation of this area.

“I think it is too early to talk about all the details of the border demarcation,” he said. “There are so many problems in the Syrian reality. We can’t solve everything at once.”

Al-Sharaa said he hopes the problems at the official border crossing will be resolved soon. Lebanese citizens who had previously easily entered Syria without a visa are currently barred from entry.

“We strive for social ties between us to increase rather than diminish, so any border obstacles between us should be removed in the future, but this is a detailed matter for customs officials,” al-Sharaa said.