Syrian Interior Ministry announces arrest of senior ISIS leader
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that its security forces had dismantled several Islamic State (ISIS) cells in southern Syria, arresting a senior leader and several members accused of involvement in assassinations and financing activities.
In a statement, the ministry said its specialized units, in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, carried out a series of security operations that led to the arrest of Firas al-Dagher, described as a senior ISIS leader, along with several individuals allegedly responsible for assassination operations and financial support for the group.
According to the ministry, investigations showed that al-Dagher held several leadership positions within ISIS, beginning with what the group referred to as the Jaidour Sector and the Western Region, before later serving as the group’s self-declared “governor of Lebanon and Palestine” and acting as a personal aide to the organization’s self-proclaimed caliph.
The ministry said investigations also revealed the involvement of the dismantled cells in several assassinations and robbery cases targeting gold merchants in Daraa governorate. It alleged that the stolen gold was sold to finance the group’s activities.
According to the statement, the detainees confessed to killing two members of the Interior Ministry, carrying out an attempted assassination inside a barbershop that resulted in the death of a civilian, and monitoring a man and his wife before allegedly killing them.
The Interior Ministry said legal procedures had been completed against the detainees and that they had been referred to the competent judiciary to continue legal proceedings.