Syrian authorities foiled an attempt by Islamic State group jihadists to blow up a revered Shiite shrine in a Damascus suburb, a source within Syria's intelligence agency told state news agency SANA Saturday.
Intelligence and security forces "succeeded in thwarting an attempt by IS to carry out a bombing inside the Sayyida Zaynab shrine", the source said.
The interior ministry posted pictures of four men it identified as members of an IS cell, arrested in the countryside outside the capital.
It published images of equipment allegedly seized from the suspects, including smartphones, two rifles, three explosive devices and several hand grenades.
The photos showed the identity papers of two Lebanese and a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon.
Iran-backed guards used to be deployed at the gates of the Sayyeda Zeinab mausoleum, Syria's most visited Shiite pilgrimage site.
But they fled shortly before Sunni Islamist-led rebels last month swept into the Syrian capital, toppling president Bashar al-Assad.
Iran-backed fighters had been key supporters of Assad since the civil war broke out in 2011.
Shiite shrines are a frequent target of attacks by Sunni extremists of the IS group, both in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.
IS previously targeted the Damascus shrine, claiming a July 2023 bombing that killed at least six people near the mausoleum.
With AFP
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