DAMASCUS: Syria’s government on Tuesday said its forces killed the leader of a cell linked to Daesh and arrested eight of its members believed to be behind a deadly attack on security personnel last week.
Daesh claimed responsibility for Sunday’s shooting, which authorities had said killed four Syrian security personnel on patrol on the Maaret Al-Numan road in northwest Idlib province.
Security forces “arrested a terrorist cell affiliated with Daesh” that carried out attacks “targeting security and military patrols in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces,” an interior ministry statement said.
“The operation resulted in the arrest of all eight members of the cell, and the ninth member, the cell leader, was neutralized,” it added.
“During the investigations, those arrested admitted their responsibility for carrying out three terrorist attacks, including targeting a road security patrol in Maaret Al-Numan,” it said, adding that weapons and explosive belts were among the items seized.
Sunday’s attack came a day after an assault on a joint US-Syrian patrol in Palmyra in central Syria killed two American soldiers and a translator.
Washington and Damascus blamed Daesh for the attack, though it has not claimed responsibility.
Syria’s new authorities are trying to stabilize the country after more than 13 years of civil war.
The Idlib region was a bastion of rebel and extremist groups including foreign fighters before opposition forces overthrew longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December last year in a lightning offensive.
A US-led coalition has at times carried out strikes on the Idlib region, usually saying it is targeting Daesh officials.
The new authorities have announced operations against Daesh, including one launched on Sunday alongside the coalition to target “sleeper cells” in the desert following the Palmyra attack.
Daesh once controlled swathes of Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
Its fighters still maintain a presence in the country, particularly in its vast desert.
Syria says caught Daesh-linked cell behind shooting attack in northwest
https://arab.news/wdeff
Syria says caught Daesh-linked cell behind shooting attack in northwest
- Daesh claimed responsibility for Sunday’s shooting, which authorities had said killed four Syrian security personnel on patrol on the Maaret Al-Numan road
- Sunday’s attack came a day after an assault on a joint US-Syrian patrol in Palmyra in central Syria killed two American soldiers and a translator
Israel’s Supreme Court suspends govt move to shut army radio
- Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station.
In a ruling issued late Sunday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said the suspension was partly because the government “did not provide a clear commitment not to take irreversible steps before the court reaches a final decision.”
He added that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the suspension.
The cabinet last week approved the closure of Galei Tsahal, with the shutdown scheduled to take effect before March 1, 2026.
Founded in 1950, Galei Tsahal is widely known for its flagship news programs and has long been followed by both domestic and foreign correspondents.
A government audience survey ranks it as Israel’s third most listened-to radio station, with a market share of 17.7 percent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged ministers to back the closure, saying there had been repeated proposals over the years to remove the station from the military, abolish it or privatise it.
But Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government’s legal adviser and is facing dismissal proceedings initiated by the premier, has warned that closing the station raised “concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting.”
She added that it “poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that Galei Tsahal broadcasts “political and divisive content” that does not align with military values.
He said soldiers, civilians and bereaved families had complained that the station did not represent them and undermined morale and the war effort.
Katz also argued that a military-run radio station serving the general public is an anomaly in democratic countries.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid had condemned the closure decision, calling it part of the government’s effort to suppress freedom of expression ahead of elections.
Israel is due to hold parliamentary elections in 2026, and Netanyahu has said he will seek another term as prime minister.
