Two members of SyriaâÂÂs internal security forces have been killed and five wounded in clashes with a suspected ISIL (ISIS) cell during a raid on the outskirts of Damascus, the Interior Ministry reported.
The fighting began on Thursday morning, when security forces launched an operation against the cell in the town of Rankous in the western Damascus countryside. The operation is the latest in a series of raids as the government tries to dismantle ISIL networks and prevent attacks.
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The ministry said the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire, triggering the clashes. Five alleged ISIL members were killed and six arrested, and weapons and explosive belts were seized.
Al JazeeraâÂÂs Heidi Pett, reporting from Syria, said residents told her the clashes began around 6am (03:00 GMT) and lasted two to three hours. Some of the wounded security personnel were seriously hurt, she said.
Residents said the group was about nine people â smaller than what officials reported â with two members killed, another two escaping, and an unknown number injured.
Residents told the local outlet Syria Now that security forces imposed a curfew and arrested several people.
Series of operations
The ministry also reportedly foiled an ISIL plot in the Damascus countryside and dismantled an ISIL cell in the Houla area of Homs earlier this month. The plots involved attacking places of worship and security patrols, according to Syria Now.
On October 6, the ministry announced the arrest of Khaled Raed Birouni, also known as Abu Hassan Dushka, in the town of Hujaira in the Damascus countryside. Authorities say he was the groupâÂÂs top military commander for Homs.
They accused him of planning several attacks there, including the December 2025 bombing of a mosque in the cityâÂÂs Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood during Friday prayers, which killed eight people and wounded 18, according to SyriaâÂÂs Health Ministry.
ISIL has repeatedly attacked Syrian security forces, usually targeting buses and vehicles carrying personnel, Pett said, along with a few attacks on civilians.
Syria joined the 90-member international coalition against ISIL in November, six years after Syrian Kurdish-led forces led the territorial defeat of ISIL strongholds in the countryâÂÂs northeast.