Hezbollah denies link to cell accused of planning Damascus attack
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Hezbollah played a key role in Syria’s civil war that ended in 2024, fighting alongside the forces of now-ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.
PHOTO: EPA
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BEIRUT – Hezbollah denied on April 12 any link to a cell accused by the Syrian authorities of planning an attack on a religious figure in Damascus, saying it conducts no activity in the country.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said on April 11 that security forces had arrested a woman attempting to plant an explosive device in front of a house belonging to an unidentified religious figure in the Bab Touma area of the Syrian capital.
Security forces dismantled the device and arrested five members of the cell, a ministry statement said.
According to initial investigations, the cell was linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and that “its members received specialised military training abroad”, the ministry added.
But the Iran-backed movement denied the ministry’s claims on April 12, saying they were “false and fabricated”.
Hezbollah said it has “no activity, no ties and no relationship with any party in Syria and has no presence on Syrian soil”.
The group called on the Syrian authorities “to conduct a thorough investigation before making accusations without evidence”.
It blamed “the presence of intelligence services” on Syrian soil that it said were “seeking to inflame tensions between Lebanon and Syria”.
Since March 2, Hezbollah has been battling Israel after drawing Lebanon into the Middle East war with its rocket fire aimed at Israel in support of its backer, Iran.
Hezbollah played a key role in Syria’s civil war, which ended in 2024, fighting alongside the forces of now-ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.
The movement at that time controlled several regions along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Under Mr Assad, Syria was part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran to Hezbollah.
But Syria’s new Islamist authorities, who deposed Mr Assad in late 2024, have rejected Iranian influence and are hostile to the Lebanese group and its sponsor.
In February, Syria said it had dismantled a cell responsible for recent attacks targeting Damascus’ Mazzeh district, claiming the weapons came from Hezbollah, which denied any involvement. AFP
