DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said on Sunday they arrested two alleged members of the Daesh terrorist group in the east of the country, blaming them for targeted killings including that of a defense ministry official.

Since coming to power in late 2024 after toppling Bashar Assad, the country’s new authorities have announced regular arrests of suspected members of Daesh and affiliated cells.

In a statement, the internal security forces announced the arrest of “two individuals following close intelligence surveillance” in Deir Ezzor.

They are accused of “carrying out a series of assassinations in the governorate, the latest of which was targeting Ministry of Defense member Ibrahim Al-Jassem” in the city of Mayadin.

Daesh took control of vast areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014 but was defeated territorially in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.

The much weakened group still occasionally claims attacks, notably those targeting Syrian security forces.

Syrian authorities blamed the group for a bombing in Damascus while French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting the country in July, and said they had dismantled the cell responsible.

According to a report presented to the United Nations Security Council that same month, the group counts some 3,000 combatants in Syria.

The report also said there have been several thwarted attacks against Syrian officials including President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.