ISTANBUL 

Syria’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday that it had thwarted a “terrorist” plot by loyalists of the former Bashar al-Assad regime to bomb a church in the coastal province of Tartus.

Internal Security Forces Chief in Tartus, Abdelal Mohammad Abdelal, said the plot was foiled in a “high-level security operation” after extensive surveillance and intelligence gathering.

He said the operation was based on “precise intelligence indicating that an outlaw group affiliated with remnants of the deposed regime was surveilling Mar Elias Maronite Church in the village of Khreibet, in the Safita countryside.”

The group planned to carry out a “terrorist attack” by planting explosives inside the church. Abdelal said two individuals were arrested en route to carrying out the attack.

Security forces recovered a primed explosive device, written threats against local residents, and a black flag at the scene, he added.

The announcement comes just weeks after a deadly June suicide bombing claimed by Daesh/ISIS at another Mar Elias Church in Damascus, which killed 25 and injured 63.

Authorities said at the time they arrested members of the Daesh/ISIS cell responsible for that attack.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Since then, Syrian security agencies and judicial authorities have intensified efforts to track down suspects involved in terrorism, war crimes, and other violations.

A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January.