Large-scale operation against the Islamic State in Syria. The raids come ahead of the meeting between Trump and President al-Sharaa
Ahmad al-Sharaa Photo: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Syria has launched a preventive operation against some cells of the Islamic State, announced a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior in Damascus, quoted by Reuters.
Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, arresting 71 people and seizing weapons and explosives, the official told state-run Al Ekhbariya TV.
The operation comes ahead of a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Washington where he is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump and formally join a US-led coalition against Islamic State.
Also, the United States is preparing to establish an American military presence at an air base in Damascus to contribute to the realization of a security pact that Washington is mediating between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, reports News.ro.
US plans for a military presence in the Syrian capital would be a sign of Syria's strategic realignment with the US after the fall last year of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran who had been in power for many years.
The Syrian base is at the gateway to areas in southern Syria where a demilitarized zone is expected to be established as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. The agreement is mediated by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The new U.S. plans appear to mirror two other new U.S. military presences in the region monitoring ceasefire agreements: one in Lebanon, which is closely monitoring last year's cease-fire between the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel, and one in Israel, which is monitoring the truce brokered by Trump between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.
The US already has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a 10-year effort to help Kurdish forces fight Islamic State. In April, the Pentagon said it would halve the number of troops there to 1,000.
