Syria has launched a large-scale security operation across multiple provinces aimed at dismantling Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells and hideouts, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The operation, described as based on “precise intelligence monitoring,” is expected to last several days and is being carried out in coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate.
Specialized units are operating in various regions, including Idlib province in northwestern Syria. Footage released by authorities shows forces raiding suspected ISIS locations.
No details were provided regarding arrests or casualties.
The operation coincides with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s upcoming visit to the United States, where counterterrorism efforts against ISIS remnants in Syria are expected to be a key topic of discussion. Sharaa is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
ISIS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" in land it controlled.
Several military offensives, including ones backed by a US-led international coalition, have since seen ISIS lose most areas it once controlled, including the loss of their de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria.
However, ISIS sleeper cells remain in the area and continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq. The US deploys troops in Syria as part of its effort to defeat ISIS in the region.