IDF says it nabbed suspected ISIS jihadist in southern Syria

In an overnight raid earlier this week in southern Syria, the IDF says it captured a suspected operative of the Islamic State.

The military says the suspected jihadist was detained in the village of al-Rafid, which is located within the UN-patrolled buffer zone that the IDF captured last year.

The operation was carried out by the 52nd Armored Battalion and the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 — which specializes in human intelligence — under the command of the 474th “Golan” Regional Brigade.

The alleged ISIS member was brought to Israel for further interrogation, the IDF says.

The military adds that it captured several weapons during the raid.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (some nine miles) deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”