Syria: 7 killed in clashes between security forces and a group affiliated with "ISIS"

Syria's Internal Security Forces announced the killing of two of its members and five members of a group affiliated with the "ISIS" organization during clashes in the Damascus countryside, during a security operation targeting a cell in the town of Rankous.

Syria's Internal Security Forces announced on Thursday the killing of two of its members and five members of a group affiliated with the terrorist "ISIS" organization, as a result of clashes that broke out between them while authorities were carrying out a security operation in the Damascus countryside. The Internal Security Forces stated in a statement, as reported by the official news agency "SANA," about a "qualitative security operation" in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, targeting "a cell affiliated with the terrorist 'ISIS' organization in the town of Rankous" in the western Damascus countryside. It added that during the operation, the cell members refused to surrender and opened fire on the security forces, leading to clashes that resulted in the martyrdom of two members and the injury of five others from the Internal Security Forces. The operation ended, according to the statement, with "the neutralization of five members of the cell, the arrest of six others, and the seizure of weapons and explosive belts." During the current month, the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of a leader in the organization, who it said was responsible for the bombing of a mosque in the city of Homs last December, which killed eight people, and for orchestrating other attacks. The Syrian authorities, which joined the US-led international coalition against the organization last year, face significant security challenges.