Syria says it arrested Islamic State members near Damascus

Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an Islamic State group cell near Damascus on Monday, accusing them of preparing attacks against the country.

Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, IS attacks on the country's new rulers have been scarce, but the Islamist-led authorities have been trying to strengthen security institutions and preserve stability.

The interior ministry said in a statement that security forces carried out a "precise operation" in a suburb of Damascus, which resulted in "the arrest of several members" of the IS cell.

It said those detained were carrying "light, medium and heavy weaponry" as well as "explosive devices and suicide vests they were planning to use to destabilize security and stability in the region".

The operation follows a similar incident earlier in May which saw the death of one security forces officer and three IS members in the northern city of Aleppo.

Once in control of large swathes of Syria and Iraq, IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by an international coalition.

The group has continued to carry out attacks since, particularly against Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria.

During his meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh this month, US President Donald Trump called on him to "help the United States to prevent to resurgence of IS", according to the White House.