Damascus: Syria announced on Tuesday evening the arrest of all members of the terrorist ISIS (Daesh) cell responsible for the weekend bombing of a Greek Orthodox church in the capital Damascus. At a press conference, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba stated that Syrian security units in Damascus' countryside conducted an operation targeting the locations of the terrorist cell responsible for the bombing of Mar Elias Church in the al-Dweilaa neighborhood.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Interior Ministry spokesperson indicated that the cell was led by a Syrian national named Muhammad al-Jamaili, also known as Abu Imad al-Jamaili. He was previously recognized within ISIS as its so-called 'governor of the desert.' The spokesperson clarified that the cell has no connection to any religious organization, without providing further details.

Regarding the attack, one of the two suicide bombers carried out the attack on the church, while the other was apprehended en route to executing a similar attack at the Sayyida Zainab shrine near Damascus. The spokesperson noted that the bombers infiltrated the capital after it was liberated, with the assistance of Abu Imad al-Jamaili, exploiting the security vacuum at the start of the liberation last December. It was highlighted that they are not Syrians.

The spokesperson described ISIS as a 'cross-border terrorist group' and mentioned that Syria is working with neighboring countries to combat the group. An ISIS suicide bomber had opened fire inside Mar Elias Church in eastern Damascus before detonating himself, resulting in at least 25 fatalities and injuring dozens, according to the Health Ministry.

Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Syria's security services have continued to pursue individuals accused of involvement in crimes, human rights violations, and terrorism-related activities. Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in January.