The Ministry of Interior announces the results of 3 months of its operations against the "Islamic State" organization

 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 arrests, and then in May with 56 arrests, including 71 in Deir Ezzor and 35 in Aleppo.

Seizure of weapons, explosives and electronic equipment

The statistics indicated that 120 pieces of the organization's equipment were confiscated  during the operations, including 67 electronic devices, 25 weapons, 22 explosive devices, in addition to six vehicles, and the attached maps showed the distribution of the cells that were dismantled in a number of governorates, including Damascus and its countryside, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed that the operations to pursue ISIS cells are continuing in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, with the aim of preventing any attempts to re-activate the organization and enhance security stability in various Syrian regions.

The latest ISIS operations

The statement of the Ministry of Interior did not mention the number of members of the organization who were neutralized during the past period, noting that the organization claimed responsibility for many operations, whether against elements of the army and security forces or against social figures inside Syria, the latest of which was the announcement by the Syrian authorities, on the evening of Saturday, May 30, of neutralizing a member of the "Islamic State" organization, while he was trying to blow himself up near a military headquarters in the province of Aleppo in the north of the country.

State media quoted an unnamed security source  at the time as saying that one of the "state" elements (whose identity was not mentioned) was "neutralized while he was trying to blow himself up near a military headquarters in Baza'a in the northern countryside of Aleppo."

The incident came days after an Internal Security commander named Rateb Hashem al-Otaiwi was shot dead by unknown assailants in the town of al-Baghouz, east of Deir Ezzor, local sources said on Wednesday (May 27th).

The sources told "Syrian News" that Al-Otaiwi is the diplomatic security official of the Syrian government and a member of the Internal Security Forces in the Deir Ezzor area, according to sources.

Activists said that security indicators and analyses indicate that cells affiliated with the "Islamic State" are behind the operation, as the organization has been intensively active recently in the countryside of Deir Ezzor through lightning assassinations

Later, local sources reported that the security forces were able to arrest one of those involved in the assassination, without giving further details.

ISIS claims attack in al-Hasakah

On Tuesday (May 12th), the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted a bus carrying members of the Syrian army in the western countryside of Hasakah, while there were conflicting reports about the details of the attack and the extent of the human losses.

According to ISIS's Amaq news agency, ISIS militants "set up a tight ambush" of a bus carrying Syrian army soldiers on the road to the town of Al-Aliya in the western countryside of Al-Hasakah province.

The agency said that ISIS militants "surprised the bus with heavy machine gun fire", killing and wounding about six soldiers and damaging the bus, noting that the bus attacks are a "military tactic followed", as it put it.

At the time, the agency did not release any photos or videos documenting the details of the attack or the extent of the losses it announced.

US report: About 20,000  ISIS mercenaries flee in Syria

An official report released 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 and their families have 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.

Pentagon: $130 million to fight ISIS

In response to this threat, Pentagon documents revealed a plan to allocate $130 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget, with the goal of supporting counterterrorism programs, protecting the remaining detention facilities in Syria, and preventing a recurrence of the collapse.

The developments have prompted neighboring countries, led by Iraq, to deploy more than 80,000 troops along the 600-kilometer border, in an effort to prevent the infiltration of fleeing elements and close any potential corridors to reactivate the group's cells.

The report noted that US forces and the international coalition had earlier thwarted a mass escape attempt by more than 6,000 members from one of the main prisons, describing the operation as sparing the region an immediate security disaster that would have reshaped the terrorist threat within hours.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point warned that this collapse represents a global threat, as it gives the fleeing ISIS cells a golden opportunity to reposition and expand in the Syrian desert, taking advantage of open spaces and weak surveillance.