Intelligence and security forces “succeeded in thwarting an attempt by ISIL to carry out a bombing inside the Sayyida Zeinab shrine”, a source within Syria’s intelligence agency told SANA on Saturday, adding that several people have been arrested.

“The  General Intelligence Directorate is utilising all its resources to confront all attempts to target the Syrian people in all their diversity,” the intelligence official told SANA.

The interior ministry posted pictures of four men it said were members of an ISIL cell who had been arrested in the countryside outside the capital.

It also published images of equipment allegedly seized from the suspects, including smartphones, two rifles, three explosive devices and several hand grenades.

The photos showed the identity papers of two Lebanese and a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon.

The shrine they were trying to target is on the southern outskirts of Damascus.

“It’s an important religious site for Shia Muslims. They believe the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad is buried [there].”

Mohamed noted that it is not the first time this shrine has been targeted.

“In 2008, there was a car bomb … [in which] 17 people were killed,” he said.

ISIL also previously targeted the Damascus shrine, Syria’s most visited Shia pilgrimage site, claiming responsibility for a double suicide attack in February 2016 close to the mausoleum that killed 134 people.

The group had also claimed a triple blast near the sanctuary several weeks earlier that took the lives of at least 70 people.

A July 2023 bombing killed at least six people near the mausoleum.

Shia shrines have been a frequent target of attacks by Sunni groups such as ISIL, both in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Iran-backed guards used to be deployed at the gates of the Sayyida Zeinab mausoleum, but they fled last month, shortly before Sunni-led rebels swept into the Syrian capital and toppled President Bashar al-Assad.

Iran-backed fighters had been key supporters of al-Assad since the war broke out in 2011.

Blinken visited the US embassy in the Iraqi capital on Friday on the final stop of his tour of the Middle East following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.

Blinken and al-Sudani discussed “the conviction of so many countries in the region and beyond that as Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that, of course, protects all of the minorities in Syria, that produces an inclusive, nonsectarian government”, Blinken said, adding that Syria should not become a “platform for terrorism”.

“I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward,” Blinken said.

“The United States [and] Iraq together had tremendous success in taking away the territorial caliphate that Daesh had created years ago.”

“No one knows the importance of that more than Iraq because of the ongoing presence of ISIS [ISIL], or Daesh, in Syria, and we are determined to make sure that Daesh cannot re-emerge,” he said.

The opposition fighters who toppled al-Assad in Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have disavowed al-Qaeda and ISIL and said they have no ambitions in Iraq.

Iraq opted not to allow Shia rebel groups to intervene in Syria as the opposition forces advanced and ultimately seized Damascus last weekend despite Baghdad’s concerns that unrest could spill over the border.

Blinken arrived in Baghdad after stopping in Turkiye, where he also emphasised that it was “imperative” to work against a resurgence of ISIL.

He met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who assured Blinken Turkiye would not ease up in the fight against ISIL in Syria despite its operations against Kurdish fighters who have allied with the US in the fight against the group.

“Turkiye will never allow any weakness to arise in the fight against Daesh,” Erdogan said while promising not to let up in his government’s pursuit of groups it sees as a threat to national security.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken Turkiye is committed to ensuring stability in Syria “as soon as possible” and preventing ISIL fighters from gaining a foothold there.

Blinken also said he saw “encouraging signs” of progress towards a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, urging Turkiye to use its influence to encourage the Palestinian group Hamas to accept a proposed deal.

“We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity … to get a ceasefire in place. And what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible,” Blinken said.

“We talked about the imperative of Hamas saying ‘yes’ to the agreement that’s possible, to finally help bring this to an end,” he said.

More than 44,875 Palestinians have been killed and 106,454 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that it had struck more than 75 targets, including ISIL (ISIS) leaders, operatives and camps, to ensure that the armed group does not take advantage of the end of al-Assad’s rule.

CENTCOM said it was carrying out damage assessments following the strikes, which involved warplanes including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, but there were no indications of civilian casualties.

“There should be no doubt – we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.

“All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”

The strikes came as outgoing US President Joe Biden described al-Assad’s fall as a “moment of risk” and “historic opportunity”.

In a televised address from the White House, Biden said that al-Assad’s fall at the hands of rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a chance for Syria’s long-suffering people to “build a better future for their proud country”.

“It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty. As we all turn to the question of what comes next, the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk,” Biden said.

Seeking to claim partial credit for al-Assad’s downfall, Biden said his demise had been made possible by a decline in support for his government from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

“For years, the main backers of Assad have been Iran, Hezbollah and Russia. But over the last week, their support collapsed – all three of them – because all three of them are far weaker today than they were when I took office,” Biden said.

The sudden end of 53 years of al-Assad family rule has cast a pall of uncertainty over the security situation in the Middle East, including the presence of an estimated 900 US troops in Syria.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who ordered the number of US troops in Syria to be reduced by half during his first term after being dissuaded against a complete withdrawal, on Saturday indicated that his administration would not get involved in any conflict in the country.

“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, before switching to all uppercase letters for emphasis.

“THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”

In his first public appearance since seizing Damascus, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani, a former leader of the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, described al-Assad’s fall as an opportunity to turn Syria into a “beacon for the Islamic nation” and the beginning of a “new history” for the region.

“God will not fail you,” al-Julani said in a victory speech at the symbolic Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital.

“This victory is for all Syrians; they were all part of this victory.”