DAMASCUS: The Syrian Arab Republic’s security forces have arrested an alleged Daesh explosives specialist in the east of the country during a joint operation by the Interior Ministry and General Intelligence Service.
In a statement carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency, the Interior Ministry identified the suspect as Akram Saleh Al-Hamad, whom it described as a key operative responsible for manufacturing explosives for Daesh operations in the country’s eastern region.
The ministry said preliminary investigations, including information obtained from previously detained members of the same cell, indicated that Al-Hamad was involved in producing improvised explosive devices and landmines used in attacks carried out by the militant group.
Suspected Daesh explosives specialist h Akram Saleh Al-Hamad being booked in jail after his arrest. (SANA photo)
According to the ministry, Al-Hamad was linked to a motorcycle bomb attack in the city of Al-Bukamal, an explosive attack targeting a Syrian Arab Army vehicle, and the planting of a device intended to target a member of the Internal Security Forces.
Security personnel seized ammunition, explosive belts, detonators and other materials during the operation, the ministry said.
The arrest follows another operation in April in which Syrian authorities, working with the General Intelligence Service, detained members of a Daesh-affiliated cell in the Al-Safira area east of Aleppo.
The Interior Ministry said the operations form part of ongoing efforts to track down terrorist groups and dismantle their networks across Syria.
Some of the bombmaking materials seized from Daesh suspect Akram Saleh Al-Hamad. (SANA photo)
Persistent threat
Despite losing the last territory of its self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019, Daesh continues to pose a security threat through sleeper cells operating mainly in eastern Syria and the vast Syrian Desert, or Badia, SANA reported.
Analysts and Western officials estimate that between 1,500 and 2,500 Daesh fighters remain active in Syria and Iraq, while roughly 10,000 are being held in detention facilities guarded largely by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Security experts have repeatedly warned that the combination of political instability, remote desert safe havens and the presence of thousands of detained militants continue to create opportunities for Daesh to regroup and launch attacks.
The group has shifted from governing territory to conducting insurgent operations, relying on bombings, ambushes and clandestine cells.
Counterterrorism officials have also expressed concern over the possibility of prison breaks involving detained Daesh fighters, particularly at facilities in northeastern Syria that house thousands of high-risk detainees.
