Armed groups arrest leader of IS terrorist militia in Syria

Armed groups in Syria have arrested a local leader of the Islamic State terrorist militia, in an area in southern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian sources said Monday.

Atta al-Hariri was responsible for Islamic State in eastern Syria, sources in the Syrian interim government said.

The Observatory, based in London, confirmed the arrest and gave details of the operation.

Local rebels from Daraa province in southern Syria, where al-Hariri was ambushed, were behind his arrest.

The rebels took control of the province in December after the overthrow of ruler Bashar al-Assad, whose government previously controlled Daraa.

Al-Hariri himself comes from Daraa, and was handed over to the security authorities in Damascus after his arrest.

According to Syrian sources, large quantities of weapons intended for smuggling within Syria were also discovered during his arrest.

The Islamic State militia once controlled large areas in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

The organization was defeated militarily, but has since expanded internationally, and continues to plan or instigate terrorist attacks in the West.

Despite that, Islamic State has suffered military and territorial setbacks in Syria, the terrorist group remains active in the central Syria desert.

In recent years, Islamic State has steadily expanded its capabilities in Syria, and is likely to use the fall of the al-Assad government to gain further strength.

The transitional government, in turn, has too few resources to fully control the desert areas in which the militia is still active.

Source » msn.com