LONDON: Syrian forces seized weapons, ammunition and explosives during a raid in the southern province of Daraa reportedly targeting a cell accused of killing three security personnel in an ambush last month. Internal Security Forces said on Monday that they recovered the materials from the home of Mohsen Al-Haimed, whom they identified as the leader of the cell accused of carrying out the attack in the town of Al-Sanamayn. They found improvised explosive devices that officials said were being prepared for use, quantities of C4 explosives and equipment used to make explosives, as well as weapons and ammunition, according to an Interior Ministry statement. Authorities said the operation was part of an ongoing campaign to uncover weapons caches and detain people suspected of sabotage and other security offenses. A cell led by Al-Haimed is accused of ambushing a security patrol that was conducting an operation to arrest a wanted man in Al-Sanamayn on Sept. 17. Three members of the security forces were killed and others were wounded, authorities said. While large-scale fighting has eased across much of Syria, attacks on security and military personnel have continued, often in smaller, asymmetric operations. Those attacks have included roadside bombings, the use of improvised explosive devices, bus bombings, assassinations and ambushes. Official statements and media reports have linked many of the attacks to Daesh cells. Responsibility for others remains unclear, with officials and observers citing the possible involvement of groups connected to remnants of the regime of the former president, Bashar Assad, which fell in December 2024 in the face of an opposition offensive after almost 14 years of civil war. Daesh has urged its members to fight Syria’s new government, which is led by the interim president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who in late 2025 joined a US-led international coalition against the group.