The Syrian government issued a statement on Thursday saying its security forces recently destroyed a gang accused of being a "Hezbollah affiliated armed group." The group has long been regarded as a key ally of former Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior quoted the commander in an official statement saying, "The Special Forces and the General Administration of Intelligence have launched a joint operation... and have successfully arrested several Hezbollah-based militia terrorist suspects in rural Damascus." The statement further pointed out that preliminary investigations showed that members of the gang had received military training at training camps in Lebanon and were suspected of planning to carry out "actions that threaten national security and stability" in Syria.
A variety of weapons and ammunition were also seized during the operation, including "hail" rockets, launch devices and anti-tank missiles. The case has been handed over to the judicial authorities for further trial.
Hezbollah, as an Iran-backed Lebanese political and military organization, sent armed personnel to assist the Assad government in regaining lost land during the Syrian civil war. The Syrian civil war began after the crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011. The organization has publicly expressed its support for Assad since 2013 until the Assad regime was overthrown by the Islamist coalition in December last year.
In recent years, Hezbollah has suffered its strength due to ongoing conflict with Israel. After Hamas launched an attack on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, and then reached a ceasefire in November 2024. After the new government came to power, the organization lost an important channel for Syria to obtain supplies from Iran.
After the fall of the Assad regime, Israel launched several air strikes on targets in Syria, expressing its intention to prevent weapons from flowing into the hands of extremist groups and to control some of Syrian territory, most of which are located in a buffer zone established after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Syria and Israel have been in formal war since 1948. However, the United States is currently mediating the two sides, and "in-depth negotiations" are being held to ease tensions in southern Syria. Damascus hopes to create conditions for broader political dialogue by reaching a security agreement.
In March this year, 10 people died due to border conflicts, Lebanon and Syria signed a joint agreement to deal with security threats. This week, the office of Lebanese Attorney General Adel Nassar said that the two countries have held their first special committee meeting in Damascus to focus on the issue of security and judicial cooperation.
