Top IS Commander Captured in Damascus in Rare US-Syria Joint Operation

Citing an Interior Ministry source, state-run SANA news agency on Wednesday (local time) said that the operation, carried out in coordination with the General Intelligence Service and a US-led international coalition, targeted an IS hideout in the city of al-Moadamiya in Rural Damascus after intensive surveillance and intelligence monitoring, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ahmad al-Dallati, head of internal security in Rural Damascus province, said the operation resulted in the arrest of the group's top leader in Damascus, identified as Taha al-Zoubi, also known as "Abu Omar Tabiya," along with several of his aides.

Al-Dallati said security forces also seized an explosive suicide belt and military-grade weaponry during the operation, describing the raid as a major blow to IS networks operating in and around the country's capital.

He stressed that Syrian authorities will continue pursuing IS remnants, warning that anyone involved in terrorism or providing support to the group will be held accountable.

The operation comes amid heightened security efforts across Syria following a series of attacks in recent weeks targeting security forces and civilians.

Also on Wednesday, Syrian security forces conducted an operation in the coastal province of Latakia, killing three members of an armed group.

Earlier in August, US-led coalition forces carried out an airborne raid on a house in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, killing a man, reportedly an Islamic State commander.

Syria's state TV channel al-Ikhbariya reported that coalition troops surrounded the house in the town of Atmeh before storming it. The man attempted to escape by jumping from a balcony into the garden, but was shot dead. Coalition units then searched the house, confiscated cell phones and electronic devices, and questioned the landlord. The victim's body was later taken to Bab al-Hawa hospital, the report had added.

- IANS