Syrian authorities uncover explosives cache linked to an ISIS cell
Syrian authorities announced on Friday that investigations with members of the cell responsible for the July 7 bombings in Damascus, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit, had led to the discovery of an explosives cache.
The twin bombings, carried out using two car bombs—one inside a garbage container and the other inside a vehicle parked on the roadside—targeted the area around the Ramee Amoud Hotel, where Macron spent the night during his unprecedented visit to Damascus on Tuesday.
Ahmed Al-Dalati, commander of Internal Security in the Damascus countryside, announced on Friday that initial investigations with members of the cell involved in the bombings revealed “their affiliation with the Daesh organization,” referring to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
The bombings killed one person and injured 36 others, according to the Health Ministry, after the French president’s motorcade had left the hotel en route to the presidential palace for talks with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that “intensive investigations with members of the terrorist cell responsible for the July 7 bombings in Damascus” led to “the discovery of a secret hideout designated by the cell to store explosives in preparation for carrying out a series of terrorist attacks.”
It added that, “in a precise operation, Internal Security forces raided the specified site following confessions from the cell and seized a number of explosive devices,” noting that engineering teams were able to “disarm and safely neutralize them in accordance with established technical procedures.”
On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “General Security forces arrested dozens of residents of the Ash Warwar neighborhood in Damascus during a wide-ranging security campaign.”
The Ash Warwar neighborhood, which the Interior Ministry said was among the sites raided in the Damascus countryside, had previously witnessed security incidents after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
One resident of the neighborhood, who requested anonymity, told Agence France-Presse that the arrests carried out on the night of Thursday into Friday did not, to his knowledge, include members of the Alawite sect to which the ousted president belongs, adding that the raids targeted other individuals in the neighborhood.
The Damascus bombings occurred less than two weeks after ten people were killed in a car bomb attack at a café in the Syrian capital, for which no group claimed responsibility.
The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has occasionally claimed attacks, particularly targeting Syrian security forces, after urging its members to fight the new authorities following Assad’s ouster in December 2024.
