Syria captures senior Daesh leader

Syrian security forces captured a senior Daesh commander in Saturday, the state news agency SANA has reported. Abu Ali Al-Harith Al-Iraqi held key positions within the group’s operations in Iraq, overseeing foreign recruits and serving as the deputy head of logistics. He is also alleged to have played a pivotal role in planning and coordinating several terrorist attacks.

His involvement includes the assassination of senior Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Maysar Al-Jabouri, as well as a foiled plot to attack the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Damascus, a revered Shia Muslim site. Syrian intelligence sources revealed that the cell responsible for the shrine plot was operating under Al-Iraqi’s leadership.

His arrest is considered a significant setback for Daesh, given his responsibility for orchestrating high-profile operations, including the murder of several key figures. The new Syrian government, which has links to former Al-Qaeda affiliate HTS, have described Al-Iraqi as instrumental in the group’s efforts to destabilise the region through targeted killings and terrorist attacks.

US forces killed a senior operative at the weekend from the Al-Qaeda-linked Hurras Al-Din group in the north-west Syrian province of Idlib, HTS’s former bastion. US Central Command confirmed the strike, which targeted a senior finance and logistics official within the group.

Despite Hurras Al-Din’s announcement last month of its dissolution under Al-Qaeda’s direction, US forces have continued to pursue its leaders.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and US, allied and partner personnel in the region,” said CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla.

OPINION: Does Sharaa’s Syria reflect Huntington’s ‘clash of civilisations’ or Fukuyama’s ‘end of history’?