Overview
- The Interior Ministry announced that Taha al-Zoubi, known as Abu Omar Tibiya, was detained with several aides during a raid southwest of Damascus.
- Officials said the operation targeted an ISIS hideout in Maadamiya after weeks of surveillance by security units and intelligence services.
- Authorities reported seizing a suicide belt and a military-grade weapon from the suspect during the arrest.
- Syrian state media described al-Zoubi as ISIS’s so-called governor for Damascus and called the detention a major blow to sleeper cells in the capital region.
- The announcement follows a December 13 attack near Palmyra that killed two US soldiers and one US civilian and prompted extensive US strikes on ISIS targets in Syria.