Government: Attack thwarted

Citing an unidentified official in the General Intelligence Service, state news agency SANA reported that members of the IS cell planning the attack were arrested. It quoted the official as saying that the intelligence service is “putting all its capabilities to stand in the face of all attempts to target the Syrian people in all their spectrums.”

IS, which takes an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels, attacked Shiite pilgrims at Sayyida Zeinab in the past. In 2023, a motorcycle planted with explosives detonated there, killing at least six people and wounding dozens a day before the Shiite holy day of Ashoura.

The announcement that the attack was thwarted appeared to be another attempt by the country’s new leaders to reassure religious minorities, including those seen as supporters of the former government of Bashar Assad.

Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, was allied with Iran and with the Shiite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as well as Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the former insurgent group that led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad last month and is now the de facto ruling party in the country, is a Sunni Islamist group that formerly had ties with al-Qaida. The group later split from al-Qaida, and HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has preached religious coexistence since assuming power in Damascus.

Visitors continued to enter the shrine Saturday under strict security measures.

“The site is open, and visitors are making their visits safely and with peace of mind,” said Moataz Sikkawi, security supervisor at the site. “The security measures regarding this cell have been addressed and dealt with.”

Nisreen Al Hassan, a visitor, said she felt reassured. “It is a very, very good effort, and we thank the security forces who worked to ensure safety and security for this country and its citizens,” she said.

Also Saturday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived in Damascus to meet with al-Sharaa.

Relations between the two countries were strained under Assad, with Lebanon’s political factions deeply divided between those supporting and opposing Assad’s rule.

Mikati told journalists following his meeting with al-Sharaa that the two countries will form a committee to work on demarcation of the border, which has never been officially defined. Mikati also said they will work together to combat smuggling on the porous frontier.

One particularly knotty issue is the area known as Chebaa Farms, which is controlled by Israel as part of the Golan Heights it captured from Syria in 1967 and subsequently annexed. Most of the international community regards the area as occupied.

Beirut and Damascus say Chebaa Farms belong to Lebanon. The United Nations says the area is part of Syria and that Damascus and Israel should negotiate its fate.