Zürcher Nachrichten - Syria says IS behind Damascus blasts, finds explosives cache

The attacks, which occurred near the hotel where Macron spent the night, cast a shadow over the first trip by a European Union head of state since Bashar al-Assad was toppled in late 2024, as President Ahmed al-Sharaa tries to rebuild the country's image after more than a decade of conflict.

Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab said that "the cell responsible for the terrorist bombings that targeted Damascus two days ago is now in our custody".

Ahmad Dalati, head of interior security for the Damascus region, said on Syrian state television that preliminary investigations indicated "the cell was affiliated with the IS (Islamic State) group".

On Friday, the interior ministry said that "intensive investigations with members of the terrorist cell" allowed authorities to find "a secret cache the cell had designated for storing explosives in preparation for a series of terrorist attacks".

The ministry had said the night prior in a statement that the cell had been captured following a series of raids "carried out at the same time against the suspects' different locations across Damascus and its countryside".

The statement said the raids occurred in four neighbourhoods, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor saying dozens were arrested in the working-class Ish al-Warwar suburb.

An Alawite-majority neighbourhood before the 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who belongs to the minority religious community, the area was targeted with raids and arrests after Islamist authorities took power, causing many to leave.

An Ish al-Warwar resident who requested anonymity told AFP the Thursday arrests did not, to their knowledge, target any Alawites.

Two blasts hit central Damascus on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding dozens during the French president's first visit to Syria.

The explosives had been planted near the Four Seasons Hotel, with Syria's interior ministry saying one was placed in a rubbish container and the other in a vehicle near the hotel in the heart of the capital.

- 'Courage' -

The blasts came after Macron's departure from the building, and moments before Syrian state media announced his arrival at the presidential palace to meet his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In a joint news conference after the blast, Macron said we must "not let ourselves be destabilised" by such attacks, and reiterated Paris's support for the country.

Sharaa praised Macron's "courage" for pressing ahead with his visit despite the bombings.

Macron became the first head of state from the European Union to visit Syria since the fall of Assad in 2024.

Syria joined the US-led coalition last year against the Islamic State group, which was largely wiped out in Iraq and Syria by 2019 but still has dormant cells in the country and considers the new rulers in Damascus to be apostates.

The explosions were the second in the Syrian capital this month, following a bombing in a Damascus cafe on July 2 that killed 10 people.

The French president had postponed announcing the date of his visit until his plane landed on Monday for security reasons.

W.Odermatt--NZN