Syrian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested a Hezbollah-linked cell accused of plotting to assassinate government officials, a charge the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group dismissed as "false."
The Syrian Interior Ministry said that it had conducted a "series of simultaneous security operations" in the Damascus countryside, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus and Latakia provinces.
It said 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 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.
It published the pictures of 11 suspects, without specifying their nationalities, saying they included the official responsible for plotting and overseeing assassinations.
