Ammon News - Syria has carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting ISIS cells, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, with 71 people arrested and explosives and weapons seized, the spokesperson told state-run Al Ekhbariya TV.

The raids come ahead of a trip by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump and join an anti ISIS US-led coalition.

The US State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Washington is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a “security pact that the US is brokering between Syria and Israel”, six sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

A US administration official also previously said that Washington was constantly evaluating its necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat ISIS.