Syria: Commander in Deir Ezzor Says Iran-Backed Sleeper Cells Seek Instability

The entrance to the Syrian town of Baghouz
The entrance to the Syrian town of Baghouz
TT
20

Syria: Commander in Deir Ezzor Says Iran-Backed Sleeper Cells Seek Instability

The entrance to the Syrian town of Baghouz
The entrance to the Syrian town of Baghouz

Terrorist sleeper cells, which are backed by Iranian militias and receive instructions from Syrian regime forces in Deir Ezzor province, seek to destabilize the area, a security official said.

Bashar al-Saab, a commander in the Internal Security Forces of Deir Ezzor Civil Council, said “the cells affiliated with Iranian militias receive orders from the regime and carry out terrorist acts, including assassinations, bombings, and threats against prominent figures, tribal sheikhs and employees in the civil council.”

He stated that his forces have foiled attempts to carry out similar crimes, and arrested several suspects.

His forces are searching for further suspects amid ongoing investigations into the plots, he noted, adding that most of the employees and security personnel working in the Civil Council are from Deir Ezzor.

Press leaks have recently revealed that Iranian commanders met with a number of tribal sheikhs in Aleppo last week in an attempt to form a tribal army to fight the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and expel them from Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside.

Saab’s statements come in light of the deteriorating security situation in eastern Syria.

On Wednesday, the headquarters of the Civil Council in Baghouz town, in Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside, was attacked by unidentified gunmen, who threw a grenade, wounding the building’s guard and causing severe material damage.

The attack was the second of its kind after unidentified gunmen on motorcycles launched an armed attack on the Civil Council in Busayrah earlier this week, forcing employees to close it.

A booby-trapped motorcycle also exploded on Sunday near Dar al-Shifa hospital in Hajin city in Deir Ezzor countryside, injuring the president of the People’s Assembly.

Unidentified gunmen have also killed three prominent Arab tribal leaders in Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside, the most recent of which was the assassination of Sheikh Mutashar Jadaan al-Hafil and his driver.

In early August, unknown gunmen launched an attack on an SDF-affiliated self-defense military post in Jadid Akidat.

Following these incidents, dozens of Deir Ezzor residents took to the streets to protest the deteriorating security situation and demand the release of dozens of detainees held by the SDF.



Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction

Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)
Members of the Syria's security forces deploy during an operation in the edge of the town of Sharaya, south of Damascus, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (AP)

Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Talal Naji, 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that shortly after Naji was detained near his home in the Mazze neighborhood, security officials came to his home and questioned two unarmed guards for about an hour.

A Syrian government official told the AP that Naji was taken for questioning and should be released later. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard.

Naji’s arrest comes nearly two weeks after Syrian authorities detained two members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The group identified the two officials arrested at the time as its leader in Syria Khaled Khaled and another senior official Yasser Zafari. The Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Under Assad, several Palestinians factions were based in Syria and some of them remained after the fall of his 54-year Assad family in December.