Skip to content
Bramble

World

Syria arrests ISIS commander accused of December 2025 Homs mosque bombing

Syria's Interior Ministry said it arrested Khaled Raed Birouni, an ISIS commander in Homs, near Damascus. It accuses him of planning the December 2025 Homs mosque bombing that killed eight people.

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Anadolu Agency
Image: Arab News

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Syria's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday 6 October 2026 that authorities had arrested Khaled Raed Birouni, also known as Abu Hassan Dushka (spelled Doshka by Arab News), a senior Daesh/ISIS operative accused of planning attacks in Homs. Centre · 1According to Anadolu Agency, the General Intelligence Service arrested him in coordination with the Internal Security Command in the Damascus countryside, in a security operation in the town of Hujaira (Hajira in Arab News). Mixed · 2The ministry described Birouni as the top military commander of the group's self-proclaimed "Homs Province" and its "executive arm" there, and said he planned and oversaw several attacks, including the preparation and use of explosive devices and sectarian attacks. Anadolu said this was based on preliminary security information and ongoing investigations.

Mixed · 2Authorities also accuse him of responsibility for the December 2025 bombing of the Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in Homs' Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood during Friday prayers; Arab News dates it to 26 December and describes the area as predominantly Alawite. Mixed · 2The Health Ministry said at the time that eight people were killed and 18 injured when an explosive device detonated inside the mosque. Right · 1Arab News adds that in January Syrian authorities said they had arrested two Daesh members accused of being behind the bombing. It also reports that the attack was claimed at the time by Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna, which said it targeted Alawites and which experts describe as a front for Daesh.

Mixed · 2Both outlets place the arrest in the context of the new authorities' efforts since Bashar al-Assad's fall on 8 December 2024 to restore security. Arab News says the bombing heightened fears of sectarian violence among minorities, that Syria joined the US-led anti-ISIS coalition last year, and that Daesh, which lost its last Syrian territory in 2019, still operates through sleeper cells.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Short report relaying the Interior Ministry statement on the arrest and accusations, with brief context on post-Assad security efforts.
Emphasis
The ministry's statement, the agencies involved and Birouni's alleged role.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the earlier January arrests or the claim of responsibility by Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna.
Charged language
“terror group”“Assad's regime”
For example
“Syrian authorities arrested a senior operative from the Daesh/ISIS terror group who is accused of planning attacks in Homs” — Anadolu Agency

Right1 outlet

Framing
Reports the arrest with more background: earlier arrests, the claim of responsibility, sectarian fears and Syria's anti-ISIS coalition membership.
Emphasis
Sectarian dimension, Alawite targeting, and the new authorities' campaign against Daesh.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give the arresting agencies by name or say the ministry's information is preliminary.
Charged language
“Daesh”“executive arm”“terrorist activities”
For example
“The bombing heightened fears of sectarian violence in Syria, particularly among the country’s minority communities” — Arab News