Syria announced Thursday that the suicide bomber who killed a member of the security forces in Aleppo on New Year’s Eve belonged to the Islamic State (ISIS) group, which authorities say had planned attacks on churches and civilian gatherings, AFP reported.
According to a statement from the interior ministry, officials had information that ISIS planned “suicide operations and attacks targeting New Year’s celebrations in a number of governorates, particularly the city of Aleppo, by targeting churches and civilian gathering spots,” prompting heightened security measures.
In Aleppo’s Bab al-Faraj neighborhood, one officer “became suspicious of a person who was later found to be affiliated with Daesh,” the ministry said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. During questioning, the man “opened fire, resulting in the martyrdom of one of the police officers, and then he blew himself up, wounding two officers while they were trying to intervene to arrest him.”
ISIS has recently intensified its operations in areas controlled by Damascus and was blamed for last month’s attack in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
In response, US and Jordanian forces hit more than 70 ISIS targets in central Syria using over 100 precision munitions on December 19. The massive coordinated strike involved dozens of fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery units that destroyed terrorist infrastructure and weapons depots.
On Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American and partner forces killed or captured nearly 25 ISIS terrorists in Syria during the days following the December 19 strike.
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.