Syria says it arrested IS-linked suspects behind the Damascus bombings during Macron’s visit

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian authorities said on Thursday they have arrested several suspects accused of a string of recent explosions in Damascus, including the bombings during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit earlier this week.

An official with Syria’s Internal Security Forces said the Islamic State group was behind the bombings. The extremist group has not claimed the attacks.

Security forces carried out raids in the Syrian capital and the surrounding areas, and “succeeded in dismantling the entire cell responsible” for the bombings, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad al-Dalati, Internal Security Forces’ commander for the rural Damascus province, later told state television that the suspects were part of an IS-affiliated cell. He said investigators had been able to identify one member of the cell after reviewing security camera footage and tracked him to identify the other suspects.

On Tuesday, explosive devices were planted in a garbage bin and a parked car during Macron’s landmark visit to Syria, a country rebuilding from years of civil war. Macron, who was in the presidential palace when the blasts happened, was not harmed and continued with his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The explosions killed one person and wounded 36 others, according to the final casualty toll announced by Syria’s Ministry of Health.

Last week, an explosive device detonated in a cafe near Damascus’ main judicial complex, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 20.

The explosions are a challenge to al-Sharaa, who has pushed to assert full control over Syria. He has appealed to minorities skeptical of his government’s Islamist-led rule and sought to win support of Western governments concerned about his past leadership of the formerly al-Qaida-linked group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule of the Assad family, which ended when former President Bashar Assad was ousted in an insurgent offensive in December 2024 led by al-Sharaa.

The nearly 14-year civil war in Syria killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions, leaving much devastation and infrastructure in ruins. While other nations and businesses have made large investment pledges, the country still needs hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild and lift millions out of poverty.