Syria announces the arrest of a leader of ISIS accused of bombing a mosque in Homs

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The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday the arrest of a leader in ISIS, accusing him of being responsible for the bombing of a mosque in a predominantly Alawite neighborhood in the city of Homs last December.

The Ministry of Interior stated in a statement that "the General Intelligence Directorate, in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces in the Rural Damascus Governorate, managed to arrest the operational arm of the terrorist organization ISIS in Homs, named Khaled Raed Birouni, nicknamed (Abu Hassan Doshka), during a security operation carried out in the town of Hajira in Rural Damascus."

The ministry reported that he is involved in "preparing and using explosive devices, carrying out sectarian attacks, in addition to his responsibility for the bombing that targeted the Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood of Homs city" in December 2025, noting that investigations with him are ongoing.

Eight people were killed in the attack that took place in a neighborhood inhabited by a majority of Alawites, the sect to which former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs.

The authorities announced in January the arrest of two individuals.

Although the Syrian authorities attributed the attack to ISIS, it was claimed by a small Sunni group called "Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah," which experts say acts as a front for the organization.

The attack sparked massive protests among members of the Alawite community in Homs and other areas, amid fears of renewed violence following previous waves of sectarian violence.

After seizing vast areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014, ISIS suffered a battlefield defeat in Syria in 2019, but affiliated cells continue to operate there, particularly in the desert regions.

The organization still occasionally claims attacks that specifically target Syrian security forces.

Since coming to power, the Syrian authorities, who ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 after nearly 13 years of civil war, have repeatedly announced the arrest of leaders or members of ISIS.