Syria says it dismantled Hezbollah-linked cell plotting assassinations

Syrian authorities say they have arrested a Hezbollah-linked cell accused of plotting to assassinate senior government figures, an allegation rejected as “false” by the Lebanese armed group.

The Syrian Ministry of Interior said late on Tuesday it carried out a “series of simultaneous security operations” in the Damascus countryside as well as in the provinces of Aleppo, Homs, Tartous and Latakia.

According to the ministry, the raids resulted in the “dismantling of an organised cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia, whose members infiltrated Syrian territory after undergoing intensive specialised training in Lebanon”.

Since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s removal in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities have repeatedly announced the discovery and disruption of alleged plots to undermine security, which they have attributed to Hezbollah – accusations the group has consistently denied.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the cell was planning “targeted assassinations against high-level government officials”, the ministry statement said, adding that they seized military equipment, including explosive devices and RPG launchers.

The ministry released photos of 11 suspects, without disclosing their nationalities, saying they included the person allegedly in charge of planning and supervising the attacks.

Hezbollah issued a statement “categorically denying the false accusations from the Syrian interior ministry”.

“The repetition of these claims by Syrian security authorities despite our repeated declarations that Hezbollah has no presence inside Syrian territory … raises major questions,” the Iran-backed group said.

It “suggests that there are those who seek to ignite tensions and strife between the Syrian and Lebanese peoples”, the group said.

Hezbollah was a key ally of al-Assad, and its intervention was widely seen as pivotal in shifting Syria’s war in his favour in the years before he was removed.

Before that, Syria had served as a crucial corridor for the transfer of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah.