Five plots to kill Syrian president or ministers were foiled last year, says UN

"Five separate plots to assassinate Syria's president and top ministers were foiled last year, the UN said on Wednesday in a report on Islamic State. According to the report, the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was targeted twice, once in northern Aleppo and another time in southern Daraa, by Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, an IS front group that carried out a bombing of a church in Damascus last summer."

"IS has stepped up its recruitment of members since the fall of Assad in December of 2024, styling Sharaa, who used to head an Islamist rebel group, as an apostate. The group published photos of Sharaa meeting the US president, Donald Trump, as proof that he had turned towards the west and abandoned his Islamist roots. Trump shaking hands with Sharaa at the White House in November. Photograph: SANA/AFP/Getty Images"

"According to the UN report, IS is focused on destabilising the new government in Damascus and is actively exploiting security vacuums and uncertainty in the country. It added that Sharaa was the primary target of IS in Syria, and that the group was operating through various front groups throughout the country for more flexibility. IS continues to be a challenge in Iraq and Syria, with analysts saying it has regrouped in recent months,"

"The UN estimates the group has 3,000 fighters across the two countries, the majority of whom are in Syria. Damascus joined the international coalition to defeat IS in November, and recently took over a number of prisons and camps holding suspected IS fighters and their relatives in north-east Syria. Damascus now controls al-Hawl camp, where almost 25,000 relatives of suspected IS"

Five separate assassination plots targeting Syria's president and top ministers were foiled last year, with Ahmed al-Sharaa targeted twice in Aleppo and Daraa by Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah. Intelligence from a neighbouring country helped Syria's security establishment prevent some attempts. IS has increased recruitment since the fall of Assad in December 2024 and labels Sharaa an apostate, publishing photos of his meeting with US president Donald Trump to portray a western turn. IS seeks to destabilise the new Damascus government through front groups, is estimated to number about 3,000 fighters across Syria and Iraq, and benefits from security vacuums and surplus weaponry. Damascus joined the international coalition in November and now controls several prisons and camps, including al-Hawl camp holding nearly 25,000 relatives of suspected IS members.

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