\n The Syrian interior ministry said that it had conducted a “series of simultaneous security operations” [Abdulmonam Eassa\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n
Syrian<\/a> authorities announced on Tuesday they had arrested a Hezbollah<\/a>-affiliated cell plotting to assassinate government officials, while the Lebanese militant group denied the “false accusations”.<\/p>\n The Syrian interior ministry said that it had conducted a “series of simultaneous security operations” in the Damascus<\/a> countryside, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus and Latakia provinces.<\/p>\n It said the operations led to the “dismantling of an organised cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia, whose members infiltrated Syrian territory after receiving intensive specialised training in Lebanon”.<\/p>\n Preliminary investigations revealed that the cell was planning “targeted assassinations against high-level government officials”, the ministry statement said, adding that they seized military equipment including explosive devices and RPG launchers, among other weapons.<\/p>\n It published the pictures of 11 suspects, without specifying their nationalities, saying they included the official responsible for plotting and overseeing assassinations.<\/p>\n Hezbollah meanwhile issued a statement “categorically denying the false accusations from the Syrian interior ministry”.<\/p>\n “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 said.<\/p>\n It added that it “suggests that there are those who seek to ignite tensions and strife between the Syrian and Lebanese peoples”.<\/p>\n Hezbollah was a key backer of longtime president Bashar al-Assad, playing a vital role in tipping the civil war<\/a> in his favour in the years before he was ousted in December 2024.<\/p>\n