DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities have arrested a Daesh military commander accused of overseeing and planning a December 2025 bombing at a mosque in Homs that killed eight people and wounded 18 others. Syria’s Interior Ministry said intelligence and security forces detained Khaled Raed Birouni, also known as Abu Hassan Doshka, during an operation in Hajira in the Damascus countryside. It accused him of implementing “several terrorist activities in the city, including the preparation and use of explosive devices and sectarian attacks.” The ministry also alleged that Birouni was responsible for the Dec. 26 bombing of the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque during Friday prayers in Wadi Al-Dhahab, a predominantly Alawite area of Homs. In January, Syrian authorities said they had arrested two Daesh members who were accused of being behind the bombing. While authorities have blamed Daesh for the attack, it was claimed at the time by militant group Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna, which said it had targeted members of the Alawite community and which experts have described as a front for Daesh. Investigations identified Birouni as Daesh’s former general military commander in Homs, and the ministry described him as the group’s “executive arm” in the central Syrian province. The bombing heightened fears of sectarian violence in Syria, particularly among the country’s minority communities, following the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December 2024 after almost 14 years of civil war. Syria’s new authorities have intensified operations against Daesh networks across the country, regularly announcing the arrest of Daesh commanders or members. Daesh lost the last territory under its control in Syria in 2019 but remnants of the group have continued to operate through sleeper cells and carry out attacks. Last year, Syria’s new authorities joined a US-led coalition against the terror group.