Syria says it arrested a Hezbollah cell plotting assassinations of government officials

Syrian authorities announce they have arrested a Hezbollah-affiliated cell plotting to assassinate government officials, while the Lebanese terror group denies the “false accusations.”

The Syrian interior ministry says it conducted a “series of simultaneous security operations” in the Damascus countryside, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus and Latakia provinces.

It says the operations led to the “dismantling of an organized cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia, whose members infiltrated Syrian territory after receiving intensive specialized training in Lebanon.”

Preliminary investigations reveal that the cell was planning “targeted assassinations against high-level government officials,” the ministry statement says, adding that they seized military equipment including explosive devices and RPG launchers, among other weapons.

It published the pictures of 11 suspects, without specifying their nationalities, saying they included the official responsible for plotting and overseeing assassinations.

Hezbollah issued a statement “categorically denying the false accusations from the Syrian interior ministry.”

“The repetition of these claims by Syrian security authorities despite our repeated declarations that Hezbollah has no presence inside Syrian territory… raises major questions,” the Iran-backed group claims.

It adds that it “suggests that there are those who seek to ignite tensions and strife between the Syrian and Lebanese peoples.”