Turkish intel helps dismantle Daesh cell in Damascus, 3 terrorists held

2026-03-05 - 20:02

A terrorist cell affiliated with Daesh plotting sabotage operations in the Syrian capital has been neutralized following intelligence cooperation between Turkish and Syrian security agencies, Turkish sources reported Thursday. The National Intelligence Organization shared actionable intelligence with Syria's Internal Security Service Command and General Intelligence Service, enabling authorities to track the cell's activities and pinpoint the terrorists' exact locations. Intelligence Sharing and Arrests Syrian intelligence units conducted a raid based on the Turkish-provided leads, detaining Omar Hashim, Mohammad Hamed, and Hussein Khalaf. The coordinated operation prevented what could have been a major terrorist strike in Damascus. The three detainees have been transferred to the Syrian General Intelligence Service's Counterterrorism Directorate for interrogation to uncover additional network connections and potential support structures. Bomb-Laden Vehicle Discovered Simultaneously with the arrests, bomb disposal teams located and neutralized an explosives-laden vehicle parked at a critical location in the capital. Security forces recovered a substantial quantity of C4 and TNT explosives capable of causing catastrophic destruction. The operation comes just days after Daesh circulated an audio message calling on its members to prepare for imminent attacks, underscoring the heightened terrorist threat that Turkish-Syrian intelligence cooperation successfully disrupted.