🇻🇦🇱🇧 An ISIS member planned to assassinate Pope Leo XIV during his visit to Lebanon
Lebanese military intelligence arrested a senior Syrian Islamic State operative who confessed to plotting the killing.
Security sources and local media identified him as Abdul Rahman “Al-Daamish,” a Syrian who had been a senior ISIS leader and deputy governor of Aleppo. He entered Lebanon illegally after escaping a Syrian prison following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The plot targeted Pope Leo XIV’s three-day apostolic visit to Lebanon from November 30 to December 2, 2025.
According to Lebanese intelligence and his confession, Al-Daamish carried out extensive reconnaissance of the pope’s routes and venues. He never moved to the operational phase, lacking resources and facing tight security from the Lebanese Army.