Syrian authorities have arrested two senior Islamic Jihad figures concerned within the group’s October 2023 incursion on Israel from Gaza, in keeping with each a Syrian official and the faction’s armed wing.
In an announcement, the Al Quds Brigades stated Khaled Khaled, who heads Islamic Jihad’s operations in Syria, and Yasser al-Zafari, who heads its organizational committee, had been in Syrian custody for 5 days.
The group stated the lads had been detained “without any explanation of the reasons” and “in a manner we would not have hoped to see from brothers,” and known as for his or her launch.
An official from Syria’s Interior Ministry confirmed the detentions, however didn’t reply to follow-up questions on why the pair had been arrested. A Palestinian supply in Damascus additionally confirmed the arrests.
Islamic Jihad joined its ally Hamas, Gaza’s ruling group, within the assault on Israel in 2023. It is a recipient of Iranian funding and know-how and has lengthy had overseas headquarters in Syria and Lebanon.
But its allies in each international locations have just lately suffered devastating blows: an Israeli air and floor offensive final yr severely weakened the Lebanese Iranian-backed group Hezbollah and Syria’s Bashar Assad, carefully allied to Tehran, was ousted in an anti-regime offensive final yr.
The new Islamist management in Damascus has reduce diplomatic ties with Iran and is hoping to rebuild Syria’s regional and worldwide backing, not least to eradicate sanctions and fund reconstruction after a brutal 14-year civil struggle.
The U.S. has given Syria an inventory of situations to satisfy in trade for partial sanctions aid, Reuters reported final month. Sources stated one of many situations was protecting Iran-backed Palestinian teams at a distance.
Israel has carried out strikes in opposition to Islamic Jihad in Syria for years. Last month, it stated it struck a constructing on the outskirts of Damascus that it stated Islamic Jihad was utilizing as a command centre, an assertion denied by the group.
Source: www.dailysabah.com