Two ISIS Members Killed While Planting Explosive in Damascus Countryside

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Two members of the terrorist group ISIS were killed by Syrian security forces while allegedly planting an explosive device in the Sayyida Zeinab area of the Damascus countryside, Syrian authorities said.

In a statement on Friday, Syria’s Internal Security Forces said one of their night patrols encountered two masked men while carrying out its duties on roads leading toward military and government facilities.

When security personnel attempted to stop the two men and check their identities, the men opened fire on the patrol. The confrontation ended with both men being killed.

A subsequent search of the site, according to the statement, found that the two men had been planting an explosive device intended for a terrorist attack against government institutions.

Security forces also seized several explosives and weapons in their possession and established that the two men had links to ISIS.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that ISIS had carried out 67 attacks in different parts of Syria from the beginning of 2026 through the start of August, resulting in the deaths of several soldiers and civilians.

Although ISIS lost its territorial control in Syria in March 2019 following the Battle of Baghouz, after a major confrontation with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the organization has continued to pose a security threat through sleeper cells and intermittent attacks.

Recent explosion in Damascus countryside

The latest incident comes one day after an explosion shook the Jaramana town in the Damascus countryside.

On Thursday, Aug. 6, an explosion occurred inside a small public transport bus near the Al-Rawda route in Jaramana. Initial information indicated that several people were affected.

Civil defense teams and emergency vehicles immediately arrived at the scene and began rescuing and transporting injured people to hospitals. At the time, the cause and nature of the explosion, as well as the final casualty figures, had not been announced.

A Kurdistan24 correspondent in Damascus reported that all roads leading to Jaramana had been closed by General Security. The correspondent also reported that one person was killed and five others were injured.

The incident followed two powerful explosions that occurred in succession less than a month earlier, on July 7, near the Syrian Ministry of Tourism building and the Four Seasons Hotel in central Damascus.

That incident caused numerous casualties, including the assistant Syrian tourism minister and four police officers, while a vehicle was burned and significant material damage was reported.

According to information from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the first July 7 explosion was caused by an explosive device planted inside a civilian vehicle. Seconds later, a more powerful second explosion occurred, believed to have involved a bomb planted inside a trash container, causing widespread fear and panic among residents.