(Reuters) -Syria has carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting Islamic State 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 U.S. President Donald Trump and join an anti Islamic State U.S.-led coalition.
The U.S. 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 U.S. is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.
A U.S. administration official also previously said that Washington was constantly evaluating its necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat Islamic State.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari, additional reporting by Phillip Stewart, writing by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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