Iran Guards Deploy Aircraft Detecting Radar in Western Syria

An air force intelligence checkpoint in Qarfa town, in Daraa, after it was completely evacuated. (Ahrar Houran Gathering)
An air force intelligence checkpoint in Qarfa town, in Daraa, after it was completely evacuated. (Ahrar Houran Gathering)
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Iran Guards Deploy Aircraft Detecting Radar in Western Syria

An air force intelligence checkpoint in Qarfa town, in Daraa, after it was completely evacuated. (Ahrar Houran Gathering)
An air force intelligence checkpoint in Qarfa town, in Daraa, after it was completely evacuated. (Ahrar Houran Gathering)

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps factions set aircraft-detecting radar in Syria’s al-Mazare area, around al-Mayadeen city in the eastern sector of the Deir Ezzor countryside.

According to sources from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Iranian military experts have monitored the process of fixing and operating the radar.

The area is strategically vital for its geographic altitude that overlooks al-Mayadeen city and regions held by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and coalition forces east of the Euphrates River.

Two weeks ago, the IRGC’s Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas militia withdrew from its military position near the al-Shibli area on the outskirts of al-Mayadeen. Lebanese Hezbollah fighters were deployed in their place.

Prior, the IRGC had transported a number of weapons and ammunition from their caches in the al-Mazare area to houses in residential neighborhoods in the city, raising fears among the locals that they would be used as human shields.

Meanwhile, the central committees in the southern Daraa region reached a new agreement, after meeting with the Russian-delegated officer, Assad Allah, to cease military operations in the Daraa al-Balad neighborhood and the governorate’s countryside.

The regime forces had closed all roads in Jasim city, in the northern countryside of Daraa, coinciding with the arrival of military reinforcements of about 200 soldiers to al-Mohs hill west of the city, according to the Ahrar Houran Gathering.

The Russian forces and the Central Committee in Houran reached an agreement on Saturday to displace 132 wanted persons to northern Syria. However, several of the included people refused to leave Daraa to any other area, according to informed sources.

Local sources in Daraa said the regime forces insisted on displacing several opposition fighters to stop the military campaign.

The opposition website Ahrar Houran Gathering stated that the regime’s security committee gave the central committee until Sunday morning to respond to this condition.

The agreement also includes the entry of Eighth Brigade forces of the Fifth Corps, supervised by the Russian troops, to several locations in Daraa.



Lebanese Authorities Uncover Hamas and Jamaa Islamiyya Training Camp in Aley

Lebanese soldiers deployed in downtown Beirut. (EPA file)
Lebanese soldiers deployed in downtown Beirut. (EPA file)
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Lebanese Authorities Uncover Hamas and Jamaa Islamiyya Training Camp in Aley

Lebanese soldiers deployed in downtown Beirut. (EPA file)
Lebanese soldiers deployed in downtown Beirut. (EPA file)

Lebanese security authorities have uncovered a covert military training camp in the Aley district, reportedly operated by members of the Palestinian Hamas movement and Lebanon’s al-Jamaa al-Islamiya.

The discovery comes amid a broader national crackdown on extremist cells, including ISIS affiliates, which have been attempting to reestablish a foothold in Lebanon.

According to a senior judicial source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Lebanese Army dismantled the camp three weeks ago following the arrest of an armed group on the outskirts of the town of Tabbiyat in Mount Lebanon.

Although more than ten suspects have been detained, the military judiciary has yet to formally charge them.

The source revealed that the camp was fully equipped with weapons and training facilities and hosted Lebanese and foreign fighters. Among the detainees are individuals with significant militant experience, sons of former fighters who battled Israel in the south and were later assassinated. Most of the suspects are from Beirut, with some of Jordanian nationality.

Parallel to these discoveries, the army announced the arrest of a new ISIS cell. In a statement, the military said it had detained three Lebanese nationals involved in plotting attacks against army positions.

The suspects were reportedly acting under the direction of ISIS operatives based abroad.

Interrogations are ongoing, and authorities are working to apprehend additional members of the cell.

The arrest comes amid a resurgence of concern over extremist activity in Lebanon, especially following renewed instability in neighboring Syria.

However, another judicial source downplayed the threat, saying recent media reports about an alleged suicide bombing plot in Beirut’s southern suburbs were exaggerated.

The source confirmed the arrest of two Syrian nationals, Khaled al-Zoubi and Mohammed al-Ajlouni, who had illegally entered Lebanon after the collapse of Syrian government control in certain areas.

They had taken refuge in Sidon and were allegedly preparing to plant an explosive device on a motorcycle in a crowded area. However, no evidence was found that they possessed the necessary weapons or explosives to carry out such an attack.

The source emphasized that while many of the detainees show signs of radicalization, few possess the capabilities to act.

“ISIS does not activate cells without providing weapons and clearly defined targets. Most recent claims of plots have been overblown and possibly politically motivated, particularly after the unrest in Syria’s Sweida province,” he said.

Meanwhile, recent arrests of Syrians in the Beirut suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh and the Bekaa town of Shmestar were initially linked to ISIS, but later disproven.

Security sources clarified that the detainees were involved in human smuggling and were not connected to any militant group. Their arrests coincided with Ashoura commemorations, prompting suspicion.

“Security concerns are valid,” one official said, “but they must not be used to incite fear or mislead the public.”