Reuters: Syria Foiled ISIS Plans to Assassinate President al-Shara

SadaNews - Two senior officials announced that Syria thwarted two separate plots by the Islamic State to assassinate President Ahmad al-Shara, adding a personal dimension to the leader's plans to join the U.S.-led coalition against the armed group he has long fought.

The sources, a high-ranking Syrian security official and a senior official from the Middle East, indicated that the plots targeting al-Shara's life were foiled in the past few months, underscoring the direct threat he faces in his efforts to consolidate his authority in a country ravaged by 14 years of war.

The sources added that in one of the cases, the organization's conspiracy centered around a pre-announced official event that al-Shara was scheduled to attend, declining to provide further details due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Syrian Ministry of Information declined to comment.