Khaberni - A United Nations report stated that Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar'a and two of his ministers, "were targets of five assassination attempts last year."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report issued last Wednesday on the threats posed by the ISIS militant group, "Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar'a and his interior and foreign ministers were targets of five failed assassination attempts last year," as reported by "Al-Ain Al-Akhbariya" from the Associated Press.
The report mentioned that Al-Shar'a was targeted in Aleppo in the north of the country, its most populous province, and in Daraa in the south, by a group called "Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna," which is believed to be a front for ISIS.
The report, issued by the Secretary-General and prepared by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, did not mention any dates or details about the attempts that targeted Al-Shar'a or his other two ministers.
The report added that these assassination attempts are additional evidence that the organization is still determined to undermine the new Syrian government and "exploit security gaps and the state of instability" in Syria.
Al-Shar’a has led Syria since his forces overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in December 2024.
In November last year, Damascus joined the international coalition to counter ISIS, which controlled a large part of Syria.
United Nations counter-terrorism experts reported that ISIS remains active across the country, primarily targeting security forces, especially in the north and northeast.
In an ambush attack on December 13 on American and Syrian forces near Palmyra, three Americans, including two soldiers, were killed.
The attack also resulted in injuries to three Americans and three Syrian security personnel.
US President Donald Trump responded by launching military operations to eliminate ISIS fighters.
According to United Nations counter-terrorism experts, the number of ISIS militants is estimated at about 3,000 in Iraq and Syria, most of them in Syria.
In late January, the US military began relocating ISIS detainees held in northeastern Syria to Iraq to ensure their confinement in secure facilities. Iraq has announced that it will prosecute these militants.
The Syrian government forces had taken control of a vast camp housing thousands of ISIS detainees, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the United States, under a ceasefire agreement with Kurdish fighters.
The report, which was submitted to the United Nations Security Council last Wednesday, stated that as of December, prior to the ceasefire agreement, more than 25,740 people were still in the Al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern the country, more than 60% of them children, in addition to thousands of others in other detention centers.
