The new Syrian authorities announced today that they prevented an attack by the Islamic State extremist group on the mausoleum of Sayed Zeinab, which is attended by Shiite believers in the southern suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The state agency SANA reported, citing an unnamed intelligence official, that members of a cell of the Islamic State, who planned the attack, were arrested.
The Ministry of the Interior published footage of four people, presented as "cell members" of the Islamic State and added that security forces raided their hideout near Damascus.
This is the first announcement by the new Syrian government, which came to power after the rebel coalition led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Bashar al-Assad on December 8, reports the Agence France-Presse.
The Sayyida Zeinab shrine has been the target of previous attacks on Shiite pilgrims by the Islamic State, which practices an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels.
In 2023, a motorcycle with explosives was detonated in that mausoleum, killing at least six people and injuring dozens, a day before the Shiite holy day of Ashura.
The announcement that the attack was thwarted appears to be another attempt by the country's new leaders to reassure religious minorities, including those seen as supporters of the former government of Bashar al-Assad.
Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, has been allied with Iran and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, as well as Iran-backed Iraqi militias.
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