Syrian Forces Raid Islamic State Hideouts in Aleppo

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syrian security forces raided Islamic State hideouts in Aleppo on Saturday, killing at least one militant and arresting others, the Interior Ministry said, the first time such an operation has been announced under the country's new Islamist rulers.

A member of the security forces was also killed, the statement issued by Interior Ministry spokesperson said. The security forces seized weapons, bombs and uniforms with the security forces' insignia.

A security source said the raids had targeted sleeper cells in four locations. One Islamic State militant had blown himself up, and another had been killed in clashes, the source said.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once led a branch of al Qaeda, has long been an adversary of Islamic State, and battled the group's self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war.

U.S. President Donald Trump met Sharaa earlier this week, and praised him as an "attractive guy with a very strong past" after the encounter in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Trump also declared the United States would lift sanctions, a major U.S. policy shift that should help revive the shattered economy and marked a major boost for Sharaa.

Sharaa seized power in Damascus in December after veteran leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted. Sharaa cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016.

Islamic State controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the height of its power, before being beaten out of the territory by enemies including a U.S.-led military alliance.

(Reporting by Tom Perry. Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)