(Reuters) – Syria has carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting Islamic State cells, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, with 71 people arrested and explosives and weapons seized, the spokesperson told state-run Al Ekhbariya TV.
The raids come ahead of a trip by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump and join an anti-Islamic State US-led coalition.
The US State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Washington is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that the US is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.
A US administration official also previously said that Washington was constantly evaluating its necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat Islamic State.