The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Monday, June 8, 2026, that it had arrested 235 Islamic State members over three months, as part of Syrian General Intelligence Service efforts to pursue the group’s cells.
The ministry added that the operations represented the outcome of efforts by the Syrian General Intelligence Service to track Islamic State cells.
As part of the operations, the Ministry of Interior said the Counterterrorism Department succeeded in dismantling seven cells and foiling seven operations.
The arrests, broken down by month, included 80 members in March, 99 in April, and 56 in May. Among them were 71 in Deir Ezzor (eastern Syria) and 35 in Aleppo (northern Syria).
The ministry did not provide details on the locations of other arrests, noting that the detainees included 198 Syrians and 37 foreigners.
The dismantled cells, according to the Interior Ministry, were distributed across two operations in Damascus and two others in Deir Ezzor, with one operation each in Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.
The ministry said it seized 25 weapons, six vehicles, 22 devices prepared for detonation, and 67 electronic devices during its operations against the Islamic State.
Latest Operations
The Syrian Ministry of Interior frequently announces the arrest of Islamic State members or the dismantling of cells affiliated with the group in various areas across Syria.
The latest of these operations was the arrest of Mahmoud al-Abdullah and Jumaa al-Ahmad in the al-Safira area of Aleppo countryside on April 16, on charges of belonging to the group.
The Interior Ministry said at the time that investigations showed the cell members were involved in carrying out a series of previous attacks, including assassinations and attacks targeting security and military personnel, as well as killings of civilians.
The ministry said it seized quantities of weapons, ammunition, and combat equipment during the operation that had been used to target government personnel and civilians.
Islamic State Operations in Syria
The Islamic State occasionally announces operations against security and military personnel affiliated with the Syrian government.
The group claimed responsibility for killing a Syrian army member in the town of al-Rai, northeast of Aleppo, while media and government sources said the victim was a civilian and did not belong to the Ministry of Defense.
On April 29, the group said its fighters targeted an army member in al-Rai, killing him, according to Enab Baladi’s monitoring of Sah al-Wagha, a website specialized in reporting the group’s news.
The incident took place on al-Saa Road between the city and the Insha’at area, according to Ibrahim Bozan, a journalist from al-Rai, who said the area has no security presence or surveillance cameras.
Bozan confirmed that Mahmoud Farwati, 24, was a civilian and did not belong to the army, despite wearing military clothing at the time of the incident, citing sources from local residents.
He noted, however, that Farwati’s brothers belong to the Ministry of Defense, adding that the uniform he was wearing belonged to one of them.
The Group Changed Its Strategy
Ahmed Abazid, a researcher on Islamist groups, previously told Enab Baladi, commenting on the nature of Islamic State operations in the current phase, that the group had fundamentally changed its strategy since losing its last stronghold in al-Baghuz in 2019.
Abazid said the group “shifted to a different model, operating as small, hidden cells in each sector, while maintaining organizational cohesion and security vetting of its members.”
He explained that the group’s strategy after the fall of the Assad regime had not changed much in terms of method, “but it has become active in wider areas, while facing greater threats of security exposure than before, as shown by Syrian Ministry of Interior operations that announced the arrest of several of the group’s cells.”
The post Interior Ministry Reports 235 Islamic State Arrests appeared first on Enab Baladi.