Syria is cracking down on terrorist plots and drug smuggling. In four recent incidents, Syria has shown that it can bust various terrorist and drug smuggling cells that threaten Syria and the region.
The most important of the arrests include operatives linked to Hezbollah. This is significant because it appears that Iranian-backed terrorist groups continue to want to destabilize Syria and also threaten Israel. Israel and Syria have common interests in combating Iranian-backed groups.
On April 19, the Syrian government’s Interior Ministry forces said that in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, they had “foiled a sabotage plot by a cell linked to the Hezbollah terrorist militia.” A source told Syrian state media outlet SANA that “the cell had planned to launch rockets across the border with the aim of undermining stability.”
The report noted that “Interior Ministry units carried out a security operation on Saturday that led to the dismantling of an active terrorist cell operating in several towns and villages. Five members were arrested as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt terrorist activity.”
In a separate incident, the Syrian internal security forces, in coordination with the General Intelligence Service, foiled a sabotage plot in Quneitra province carried out by a cell linked to Hezbollah, the Interior Ministry said. Quneitra is near the Golan. Israel has demanded that southern Syria be demilitarized, and Israel has backed the Druze in Sweida. The Druze have fought the Syrian government in the past.
While Israel supports the Druze in Sweida, this has also caused a power vacuum in nearby areas, which drug smugglers exploit. Close to the Golan, it appears that Iranian-backed individuals are seeking to destabilize the region.
“The ministry said in a statement that the group had prepared a civilian vehicle modified to conceal rocket-launching equipment, with the aim of carrying out a cross-border attack. The operation followed close surveillance of the cell’s movements, allowing security forces to seize the vehicle and equipment before the attack was carried out and to arrest several individuals involved,” SANA noted.
The Syrian security forces found 107mm rockets and a truck that had been altered to enable it to fire rockets from its flat-bed. In many cases, Iranian-backed groups convert KIA Bongo vehicles to do this in Iraq. This makes it easy to conceal the rockets in what appears to be a small commercial truck.
SANA noted that “during the operation, a number of rockets and launch platforms that had been professionally prepared and concealed aboard a civilian vehicle were seized, the ministry said. One of the detainees was identified as Abdul Hamid Zanouba and the other as Adnan Zein, while a third member of the cell remains at large, with efforts ongoing to track him down and arrest him.”
Syria thwarts Hezbollah plots, confiscates weapons
Syria says it has thwarted a number of attacks targeting Israel and that it has found men linked to Hezbollah. SANA also notes that “previous incidents had targeted sensitive sites, including Mezzeh military airport, as well as religious figures, as part of efforts to undermine stability. The latest attempt in Quneitra involved a cell planning to launch an attack from Syrian territory against targets outside the country, the ministry said.”
In yet another incident, “the coordinated security operation units seized a cache of weapons and military equipment that included various firearms, grenades, military gear, ammunition, and quantities of explosive materials and detonators prepared for use in planned attacks aimed at undermining security in the area”.
The units found items used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This is the second find in a week. Last week, the Syrian security forces also found elements used in explosives that were likely destined to be smuggled to Lebanon.
In a fourth incident, the Syrians said that their Drug Enforcement Administration, “in cooperation with border guard forces and in coordination with Iraq’s General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, foiled an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of drugs intended for trafficking out of the country.”
SANA noted that “the Interior Ministry said in a statement Sunday that the operation, part of ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, led to the arrest of two suspects identified by their initials as ‘T.A.’ and ‘F.A.’ while transporting the shipment under security surveillance in Damascus.
The operation that also included Iraqi support found some 500,000 captagon pills. Rudaw media in Erbil, Iraq, noted that “Baghdad and Damascus have recently strengthened cooperation, moving from basic intelligence sharing to coordinated field operations, particularly targeting the trafficking of narcotics from Syria to – and through – Iraq.”
The report added that “a similar joint operation in February resulted in the seizure of 65 kilograms of Captagon in Syria’s central province of Homs. Iraq is one of the primary destinations for Captagon, a powerful amphetamine.” Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, told Rudaw in February 2025 that drug trafficking is “the most widespread crime” in the country.
In another development, the Rabia border crossing from Iraq to Syria has reopened. It was closed for the last 12 years. The crossing is north of Mosul and is in the Iraqi town of Rabia. It is one of many border crossings being reopened and repaired.
Source:
www.jpost.com
