Syrian forces kill three ISIL fighters in Aleppo raids

Syria's interim govt raids ISIL in Aleppo, seizes explosives, vests, and uniforms in first such announced action

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Syrian security forces have killed three ISIL (ISIS) fighters and detained four others in a targeted raid on sleeper cells in the city of Aleppo, according to the country’s Ministry of Interior.

The operation, which marks the first such action announced by the interim government in Syria’s second-largest city, was conducted jointly by the General Security Department and the General Intelligence Service. The Ministry said the raids targeted several ISIL hideouts across Aleppo, resulting in the seizure of explosive devices, an explosive vest, and uniforms belonging to the General Security forces.

Tragically, one Syrian security officer was killed during the clashes. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the operation took place primarily in the Haidariya district, with further skirmishes erupting in a neighbouring area.

The offensive comes under the leadership of Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who assumed control in Damascus last December following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in a swift military campaign. Al-Sharaa, a longtime opponent of ISIL, played a pivotal role in dismantling the group’s territorial grip during the Syrian war and severed ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

The recent crackdown on ISIL follows an earlier announcement by Syrian authorities that they had disrupted a bombing plot near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, a significant Shia pilgrimage site south of Damascus.

In a related diplomatic development, US President Donald Trump met with President al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Trump praised the interim leader as “an attractive guy with a very strong past.” Following the meeting, the United States declared it would lift sanctions on Syria — a major foreign policy shift and a notable endorsement of al-Sharaa’s transitional government.

The raid is seen as a signal of the interim government's determination to root out remaining ISIL elements and assert control over formerly contested territories.