Syria thwarts Islamic State plots to kill President Sharaa as he seeks closer ties with US: Report

Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, according to a Reuters report, citing two senior officials, underscoring the persistent threat facing the leader as he moves to align Syria with a US-led coalition against the militant group.

The sources, a senior Syrian security official and a senior Middle Eastern official, said that the attempted attacks were disrupted over the past several months.

They said the foiled plots highlight the personal risks confronting Sharaa as he works to consolidate power in a nation devastated by 14 years of civil war.

In one of the cases, officials said, Islamic State operatives had planned to target Sharaa during a pre-announced public engagement. They declined to provide further details, citing the sensitivity of ongoing security operations.

Plots emerge ahead of Sharaa meeting with Trump

The revelation of the assassination plots comes as Syria prepares to join a US-led global coalition against the Islamic State, coinciding with President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday — a first for any Syrian head of state.

Sharaa, who assumed power last December after the Islamist rebel movement he led toppled former President Bashar al-Assad, has sought to present himself as a moderate reformer. He is expected to use the high-profile meeting to seek international backing for Syria’s reconstruction and long-term recovery.

Syria’s planned entry into the coalition marks a dramatic foreign policy shift following Assad’s downfall — from alignment with Russia and Iran to a growing partnership with Western and Arab states.

Despite these diplomatic advances, Sharaa faces formidable challenges at home. His government continues to battle entrenched sectarian divisions and recurring attacks on civilians and security forces, violence that authorities in Damascus have attributed to Islamic State militants.

Crackdown on Islamic State

Over the weekend, Syria’s Interior Ministry launched a nationwide crackdown on Islamic State (IS) networks, detaining more than 70 suspected militants, according to a Reuters report, citing government media.

A senior Syrian security official said the operation was based on intelligence indicating that IS cells were plotting attacks targeting both government institutions and minority communities.

The official added that the campaign was also intended to signal the extent of Syrian intelligence penetration within the militant group — and to demonstrate the value Syria could bring to global counterterrorism efforts as it prepares to join the US-led coalition.

President al-Sharaa, who seized power last year in an 11-day offensive, previously led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist faction once affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Sharaa severed ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and has since waged a sustained campaign against Islamic State, directing arrests and military operations in HTS’s former stronghold of Idlib.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Islamic State has attempted to reassert itself in Syria, seeking to discredit Sharaa’s outreach to the West and his promises to represent all of Syria’s religious groups as betrayals of Islam. In June, a suicide bombing at a Damascus church killed 25 people — an attack the government attributed to IS, though the group did not claim responsibility.

Syrian officials say Sharaa’s government has been quietly coordinating with U.S. forces for months in the fight against Islamic State. Formal membership in the coalition, however, is expected to deepen intelligence and military cooperation and serve as a key step toward persuading U.S. lawmakers to lift remaining sanctions on Syria by year’s end.

Last week, Reuters reported that the US military was preparing to establish a presence at a Damascus airbase for the first time. A US administration official declined to identify the base, citing operational security.

Syrian state media denied the report but did not specify which elements were inaccurate.

With inputs from agencies