The Syrian Interior Ministry announced the arrest of a “dangerous criminal cell” following a complex security operation conducted jointly by the Internal Security Command in Tartous and the Counterterrorism Directorate.
Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba said the cell was linked to remnants of the deposed regime and maintained foreign connections. “The group carried out multiple operations aimed at undermining social stability,” he said.
Al-Baba identified the cell’s leader as Abdul Ghani Kassab, a key operative affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its militias in Syria, along with several of his followers and sons. Authorities seized large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosives during the arrests.
“Kassab was previously considered one of Iran’s main ideological agents in Aleppo. He ran a center in al-Azamiya neighborhood to promote extremist ideas and recruit individuals, using it to carry out security activities on behalf of Iran and the former regime against the Syrian people,” al-Baba added.
