ISIS Suspects Arrested in Syria after Terrorist Attacks
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Sunni Islamist authorities in Damascus continue to be courted by President Donald Trump, leading European Union nations, Turkey, and influential Gulf Arab states despite brutal attacks on Alawites, the Druze, and Christians by forces linked to Syria’s new ruling structure (pogroms against the Alawites and the Druze witnessed the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians). Yet, much like the Taliban in Afghanistan, the authorities also face attacks from the Islamic State (ISIS).
Following recent suspected ISIS attacks — including incidents during the visit of President Emmanuel Macron of France—Syrian security forces arrested suspects connected to a series of terrorist attacks that underscore the country’s continuing instability.
The Interior Ministry announced that security forces had “succeeded in dismantling the entire cell responsible” for the recent attacks, including a bombing near a café in Damascus that killed numerous civilians.
AP News reported: “Brig. Gen. Ahmad al-Dalati, Internal Security Forces’ commander for the rural Damascus province, later told state television that the suspects were part of an IS-affiliated cell. He said investigators had been able to identify one member of the cell after reviewing security camera footage and tracked him to identify the other suspects.”
Ironically, Syria’s leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has a background rooted in similar Takfiri Islamist ideology. Nevertheless, his government continues to receive diplomatic engagement from the United States, France, Turkey, and other Western and regional powers seeking to reduce Iranian influence and reshape Syria’s geopolitical alignment.
This strategy, however, risks empowering forces whose ideological foundations remain hostile to pluralism, secularism, and minority rights. Consequently, religious minorities and secular Syrians are increasingly marginalized, while Kurdish leaders fear that, after playing a pivotal role in defeating ISIS, their autonomy, political representation, and security will once again become expendable in wider geopolitical negotiations.
The latest suspected ISIS attacks, combined with deep sectarian tensions and unresolved political divisions, demonstrate that Syria remains profoundly fragile.
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