Syria says top ISIL commander killed in raid in Damascus countryside | News from armed groups

The Interior Ministry says the raid killed Mohammed Shahadeh, describing him as one of ISIL’s top commanders in Syria.

Syrian authorities say security forces carried out second operation against ISIL (ISIS) near Damascus, killing a senior official described as the group’s governor in Hauran.

In a statement released Thursday, the Interior Ministry said the raid killed Mohammed Shahadeh, also known as Abu Omar Shaddad, calling him one of ISIL’s top commanders in Syria and a direct threat to local security.

Officials said the operation followed verified intelligence and extensive surveillance and was carried out by specialized units, operating in the Damascus countryside, who carried out a targeted raid in the town of al-Buweida, near Qatana, southwest of the capital.

The operation also involved the General Directorate of Intelligence and took place in coordination with international coalition forces, the ministry said.

“Paralyzing blow”

The announcement comes a day after Syrian internal security forces arrested another senior ISIL official in a separate operation near Damascus, according to the official SANA news agency.

SANA reported that forces arrested Taha al-Zoubi during what it described as a “rigorously executed security operation” in the Damascus countryside. The agency said officers seized “a suicide belt and a military weapon” during the arrest.

Brigadier General Ahmad al-Dalati, head of internal security in rural Damascus, told SANA that the raid targeted an ISIL hideout in Maadamiya, southwest of the capital.

ISIL, which views the current authorities in Damascus as illegitimate, has largely focused its latest operations on Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria.

At the height of its power, the armed group controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria, declaring Raqqa its capital.

Although ISIL suffered military defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, its cells continue to carry out attacks in the region and beyond, including parts of Africa and Afghanistan.