Report: Lebanon arrests IS commander who was tasked with assassinating pope
The army intelligence directorate has arrested one of the most senior leaders of the Islamic State group in north Lebanon after he was tasked with carrying out a terrorist operation targeted against Pope Leo’s visit to Lebanon in late 2025, MTV has reported.
The report said the Syrian detainee is known as Al-Daamish and previously held the position of Aleppo’s deputy chief within the extremist organization. He was later arrested by the former regime's security apparatus, where he remained in prison for three years. Following the collapse of the Syrian regime, he managed to escape and enter Lebanon illegally.
Sources told MTV that as soon as the extremist settled in Lebanon, he re-established contact with his commanders, receiving direct orders from an Islamic State leader.
Accordingly, he was assigned the mission of preparing for the assassination of the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, during his visit to Lebanon in 2025.
According to the investigations of the army intelligence directorate, Al-Daamish conducted surveillance operations on the ground, monitoring the areas the pope was scheduled to pass through in an attempt to find a security gap. However, he failed to execute the mission due to the dense security deployment and the strict measures accompanying the visit of the head of the Catholic Church.
“He was placed under surveillance, arrested, and his mobile phone was extracted before he was handed over to the Military Court,” MTV added.
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