The Ministry of Interior announced the dismantling of cells affiliated with the "Islamic State" organization and the arrest of a leader of the organization in the southern region.

In a statement published on its official IDs on Thursday, July 9, the ministry said that its specialized units , in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, arrested the leader of the "Islamic State" organization, Firas al-Dagher, and a number of those responsible for assassinations and financing, during a series of security operations that resulted in the dismantling of several cells affiliated with the organization in the southern region.

The ministry did not specify the location of the arrest, but only said that it took place in the southern region, which includes the provinces of Damascus, Daraa, Quneitra and Suwayda.

The "Wali of Palestine and Lebanon" in the organization was arrested

The ministry said that investigations showed that al-Dagher progressed in leadership positions within the organization, including the so-called "Jidour sector" and the "western region", leading to his assignment as the so-called "governor of Lebanon and Palestine", in addition to his work as a personal escort for the organization's caliph.

According to the ministry, the investigations revealed the involvement of the cells in assassinations and looting operations targeting a number of goldsmiths in Daraa province, and the discharge of stolen gold to secure funding for the organization's activities, and the detainees also confessed to the assassination of two members of the Ministry of Interior, and the execution of an assassination attempt inside a barbershop that resulted in the death of a civilian, in addition to monitoring a person and his wife before liquidating them.

The Ministry confirmed the organization of legal seizures against the arrested persons and referred them to the competent judiciary to complete the legal procedures.

235 ISIS members arrested

The Ministry of Interior revealed that 235 people suspected of belonging to the "Islamic State" organization were arrested and 7 cells linked to the organization listed on international terrorism lists were dismantled.

This came in a statement published by the ministry on its official identifiers, on the evening of Monday, June 8, on the outcome of the security operations of the Counter-Terrorism Department against the "Islamic State" as part of the efforts aimed at enhancing security, stability and combating terrorist activities.

Security operations led to "the arrest of 235 people, including 198 Syrians and 37 foreigners, in addition to the dismantling of 7 cells linked to the group", the statistics showed, explaining that the security services carried out "seven raids and pursuits, which were distributed and resulted in the seizure of weapons and equipment suspected of being used in activities linked to the group".

According to the ministry's statement, the highest number of detainees was recorded during the month of April with 99 arrests, followed by March with 80 detainees, and then in May with 56 arrests, including 71 in Deir Ezzor and 35 in Aleppo.

About 20,000 ISIS mercenaries flee in Syria

An official report issued by the U.S. Department of Defense's Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve, in cooperation with intelligence services, said that between 15,000 and 20,000 people suspected of being linked to the Islamic State group and their families had fled after security chaos and mass escapes from camps and prisons in northeastern Syria.

The newly released US report said US assessments had identified a near-complete evacuation of the sprawling al-Hol camp, with its population falling from about 23,400 to just under 1,500, as a result of mass fleeing and organised smuggling of women and families linked to the group.

Nearly 1,500 hardline prisoners escaped from al-Shaddadi prison, amid security chaos that accompanied military withdrawals and a change in control of territory, allowing the group elements to exploit loopholes and disappear into vast desert areas, the report said.