LONDON: Three security personnel were killed on Thursday after forces in the Syrian Arab Republic launched a raid against an armed group affiliated with Daesh in the Daraa countryside, in the country’s south.

Internal Security Forces said that the Daesh group hid out in the city of Al-Sanamayn, and failed to comply with a deadline to surrender issued by the authorities, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

“The security operation in Al-Sanamayn is continuing, and we confirm that the outlawed armed group is affiliated with the terrorist organization Daesh,” the forces said.

Early on Thursday, forces said an armed group led by a wanted man opened fire on the patrol and clashed with officers during the operation. They deployed additional forces across Al-Sanamayn and imposed a temporary curfew.

Although Daesh lost the last of the territory it controlled in Syria in 2019, the group has continued to stage attacks using sleeper cells, particularly in parts of northern Syria and the country’s central desert region.

Operations targeting remnants of the group have been stepped up since transitional authorities came to power in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024 after almost 14 years of civil war.

Last week, Syrian security forces arrested a nine-member cell of the Daesh group in the southern province of Quneitra.

In November 2025, Syria joined the US-led international coalition against Daesh, which was founded in 2014.