Lebanese media are reporting that Army Intelligence arrested a Syrian man linked to ISIS over allegations that he had been assigned to prepare an attack on Pope Leo XIV during the pontiff’s late 2025 visit to Lebanon. For now, the central details come from media reports citing security sources rather than a detailed public statement by the Lebanese Army or the Vatican.
Naharnet reported on September 24, citing Lebanon’s MTV, that the detainee is known as “Al-Daamish” and had previously held a position in the group around Aleppo. According to that account, after entering Lebanon he re-established contact with ISIS commanders and received instructions connected to a mission against the pope.
Reports say he conducted surveillance but did not reach an operational stage
Sources quoted by MTV said the suspect carried out on-the-ground surveillance of areas Pope Leo was expected to pass through, looking for a gap in security. The report said the heavy security deployment around the visit prevented him from carrying out the mission. It also said he was placed under surveillance, arrested, his phone was examined, and he was transferred to the Military Court.
A separate Italpress report, citing information from Al Arabiya, said the suspect was arrested in the Batroun area of northern Lebanon. It reported that he admitted during questioning to remaining in contact with ISIS leadership in Syria and that the “biggest mission” assigned to him involved assassinating the pope. Sources in that account said he did not reach the operational stage because he lacked the necessary resources.
The two reports provide overlapping accounts of the security allegation, but they do not substitute for an investigative file, indictment or official evidentiary statement that would allow the public to verify the case independently.
The pope’s Lebanon visit is independently confirmed
The Vatican’s official itinerary confirms that Pope Leo XIV arrived in Beirut on November 30, 2025 and remained in Lebanon through December 2. His schedule included the presidential palace, Annaya, Harissa, Beirut and Bkerké, as well as a visit to the Beirut port explosion site and a waterfront Mass.
Those public events required extensive security, but the Vatican itinerary contains no information about an ISIS threat. No Vatican statement reviewed for this article confirms that the Holy See was informed of an assassination plot.
What remains unknown
Publicly available reporting does not provide the suspect’s alleged communications with ISIS, a full indictment, details of any weapons recovered or evidence that an attack method had been selected. The exact date of the arrest is also not clear from all available accounts.
It is therefore important to distinguish three stages: an alleged assignment, reported surveillance and preparation, and an actual operational attack attempt. The public material currently supports media reports alleging the first two, based on security sources, but does not present public evidence that an attack was ready to be carried out.
