Syria says it seized large weapons shipment bound for Sweida

The Syrian interior ministry announced on Monday that authorities had seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition destined for the southern province of Sweida, as part of an ongoing security campaign targeting illegal arms trafficking and wanted individuals.

In a statement, the ministry said the driver of the vehicle transporting the weapons had been arrested while attempting to smuggle the shipment into Sweida - home to Syria's Druze minority. It did not provide the driver’s identity or details about the network allegedly behind the operation.

According to the statement, the confiscated items included anti-tank missiles, heavy machine guns, Katyusha rockets, and large quantities of assorted ammunition. The ministry said the operation was part of efforts to curb the flow of illicit weapons across Syria.

A security source close to the ministry told The New Arab's Arabic edition, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that investigations were ongoing to identify all those involved in the smuggling attempt, noting the possibility of additional accomplices who may have helped move or conceal the shipment.

The seizure coincides with a wider security crackdown launched Saturday by the interior ministry through the General Security Directorate.

The campaign focuses on arresting wanted individuals and reducing the proliferation of weapons in Daraa province, which has seen intermittent unrest and clashes between armed groups and government forces.

The latest operation comes just a day after authorities said they had recovered a quantity of light and medium weapons hidden by outlaws in villages across western rural Homs.

Security forces say these operations reflect a growing effort to dismantle weapons smuggling networks and limit the spread of unlicensed arms across multiple regions of the country.