Syria has carried out what its Interior Ministry called nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting Islamic State cells, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
This comes as the Syrian president arrived in the US on Sunday for talks with US President Donald Trump.
According to the spokesperson’s report to state-run Al Ekhbariya TV, Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, arresting 71 people and seizing explosives and weapons.
The US state department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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al-Sharaa’s arrival to the US marks the first time a Syrian president will have visited the White House since 1946, according to analysts.
The visit also comes a day after the US removed al-Sharaa, who has a known previous affiliation with al-Quaida, from a terrorism blacklist.
He is expected to join an anti-Islamic State US-led coalition after Washington led a vote on Thursday by the Security Council to remove UN sanctions against him.
Since taking power following the fall of Assad’s regime, Syria’s new leaders have sought to break away from their violent past and create a moderate image more acceptable to the international community.
Washington is also preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable an Israel-Syria security agreement, sources have told Reuters.