Two Syrian security officers killed in raid on ISIL cell near Damascus

The Syrian Interior Ministry says five suspected fighters killed and six arrested outside of Damascus.

Syrian security forces have reported several plots by ISIL cells since Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa joined the global military coalition against the group in November [File: Firas Makdesi/Reuters]

Two members of Syria’s internal security forces have been killed and five wounded in clashes with a suspected ISIL (ISIS) cell during a raid on the outskirts of Damascus, the Interior Ministry reported.

The fighting began on Thursday morning, when security forces launched an operation against the cell in the town of Rankous in the western Damascus countryside. The operation is the latest in a series of raids as the government tries to dismantle ISIL networks and prevent attacks.

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The ministry said the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire, triggering the clashes. Five alleged ISIL members were killed and six arrested, and weapons and explosive belts were seized.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Syria, said residents told her the clashes began around 6am (03:00 GMT) and lasted two to three hours. Some of the wounded security personnel were seriously hurt, she said.

Residents said the group was about nine people – smaller than what officials reported – with two members killed, another two escaping, and an unknown number injured.

Residents told the local outlet Syria Now that security forces imposed a curfew and arrested several people.

Series of operations

The ministry also reportedly foiled an ISIL plot in the Damascus countryside and dismantled an ISIL cell in the Houla area of Homs earlier this month. The plots involved attacking places of worship and security patrols, according to Syria Now.

On October 6, the ministry announced the arrest of Khaled Raed Birouni, also known as Abu Hassan Dushka, in the town of Hujaira in the Damascus countryside. Authorities say he was the group’s top military commander for Homs.

They accused him of planning several attacks there, including the December 2025 bombing of a mosque in the city’s Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood during Friday prayers, which killed eight people and wounded 18, according to Syria’s Health Ministry.

ISIL has repeatedly attacked Syrian security forces, usually targeting buses and vehicles carrying personnel, Pett said, along with a few attacks on civilians.

Syria joined the 90-member international coalition against ISIL in November, six years after Syrian Kurdish-led forces led the territorial defeat of ISIL strongholds in the country’s northeast.

叙利亚内政部称，五名疑似武装分子在大马士革郊外被打死，六人被捕。

自叙利亚总统艾哈迈德·沙拉于去年11月加入打击“伊斯兰国”的全球军事联盟以来，叙利亚安全部队已报告了“伊斯兰国”多个小组策划的阴谋。[图片：Firas Makdesi/路透社]

叙利亚内政部报告称，在对大马士革郊区的一次突袭行动中，叙利亚内部安全部队与疑似“伊斯兰国”（ISIS）小组发生冲突，造成两名叙利亚内部安全部队成员死亡，五人受伤。

战斗始于周四上午，当时安全部队对位于大马士革西部郊区兰库斯镇的“伊斯兰国”据点展开行动。此次行动是政府为瓦解“伊斯兰国”网络、阻止袭击而开展的一系列突袭行动中的最新一次。

以色列在叙利亚南部的三次突袭和逮捕行动（共三项）将当地人口推向崩溃边缘

据国家媒体报道，以色列军队在叙利亚南部的一次突袭中击毙了一名残疾男子（共3份名单中的第2份）。

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该部表示，嫌疑人拒绝投降并开火，引发冲突。五名据称是“伊斯兰国”成员的人被打死，六人被捕，警方缴获了武器和爆炸腰带。

半岛电视台记者海蒂·佩特从叙利亚报道称，当地居民告诉她，冲突始于早上6点左右（格林尼治标准时间03:00），持续了两到三个小时。她说，一些受伤的安保人员伤势严重。

居民称该团伙约有九人——比官方报告的人数要少——其中两人死亡，两人逃脱，另有若干人受伤，具体人数不详。

当地居民告诉叙利亚新闻网，安全部队实施了宵禁并逮捕了数人。

一系列操作

据报道，叙利亚国防部本月初还挫败了一起发生在叙利亚大马士革郊区的“伊斯兰国”阴谋，并在霍姆斯市胡拉地区捣毁了一个“伊斯兰国”小组。据叙利亚新闻网报道，这些阴谋包括袭击宗教场所和安全巡逻队。

10月6日，内政部宣布在位于大马士革郊区的胡吉拉镇逮捕了哈立德·拉伊德·比鲁尼（又名阿布·哈桑·杜什卡）。当局称他是该组织在霍姆斯的最高军事指挥官。

他们指控他策划了在那里的多起袭击，其中包括 2025 年 12 月在周五祈祷期间对该市瓦迪达哈卜街区一座清真寺的炸弹袭击，据叙利亚卫生部称，该袭击造成 8 人死亡，18 人受伤。

佩特说，伊斯兰国多次袭击叙利亚安全部队，通常以运送人员的公共汽车和车辆为目标，此外还袭击了一些平民。

叙利亚于 11 月加入了由 90 个成员国组成的打击“伊斯兰国”的国际联盟。此前六年，叙利亚库尔德人领导的部队在叙利亚东北部攻克了“伊斯兰国”的据点。