Israel says it carried out operation against gunmen attacking Druze fighters in Syria

SAHNAYA, Syria (AP) — Israel said Wednesday that it carried out an attack in Syria on a group targeting members of a minority sect as a new round of clashes left at least 11 people dead, most of them members of the country’s security forces.

The clashes on the edge of the town of Sahnaya, south of the capital Damascus, came a day after a heavy exchange of fire between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters left 10 people dead in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.

A statement released by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's military carried out a warning operation and attacked “an extremist group that was organizing to continue attacking the Druze population” in Sahnaya. It didn't give details about the warning operation.

The statement said “a serious message was also conveyed to the Syrian regime,” adding that Israel expects it to act to prevent harm to the Druze.

The Syrian Information Ministry said in a statement that 11 members of the country’s security forces were killed in two separate attacks and that others were wounded, triggering the clashes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said that 22 people were killed, of whom 16 were members of the security forces while two were Druze residents of Sahnaya. It added that government forces are sending reinforcements toward Sahnaya.

The Israeli military said Wednesday night that three Syrian Druze who were wounded in the fighting were taken to Israel for treatment.

On March 1, Israel’s Defense Ministry said that the military had been instructed to prepare to defend Jaramana, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.

On Wednesday afternoon, a deal was reached between Druze dignitaries and officials representing the government after which security forces and pro-government gunmen entered Sahnaya and the situation became quite after Druze gunmen withdrew from the streets.

The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of the activist media collective Suwayda24, said that the clashes broke out Tuesday night when security forces began attacking Ashrafiet Sahnaya. Maarouf, who is a Druze, said that since Tuesday night, residents have been contacting them to say that residential areas were being targeted.

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said in a statement that he is deeply concerned “at unacceptable violence in Syria,” adding that he is alarmed at reports of civilian casualties and also casualties among security personnel and the potential for further escalation of an extremely fragile situation.

“He is also alarmed at reports of Israeli attacks. These attacks must stop,” Pedersen's statement said.

Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, the largest Druze political group in the country, said former leader Walid Joumblatt contacted the political leadership in Damascus as well as officials in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, adding that an agreement had been reached on a ceasefire that went into effect.

Since the downfall of President Bashar Assad in December, Israel has pushed its forces into southern Syria to create a demilitarized buffer zone.

“Israel will not allow harm to the Druze community in Syria out of a deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel, who are connected by family and historical ties to their Druze brothers in Syria,” the statement released by Netanyahu said.

Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

Syrian government security forces stand guard on their checkpoint, at one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian government security forces stand guard on their checkpoint at one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian government security forces stand guard on their checkpointat one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Members of Syria's security forces deploy in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after earlier clashes with Druze fighters left at least 11 people dead. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Members of Syria's security forces deploy in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after earlier clashes with Druze fighters left at least 11 people dead. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Members of Syria's security forces deploy in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after earlier clashes with Druze fighters left at least 11 people dead. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Members of Syria's security forces deploy in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, after earlier clashes with Druze fighters left at least 11 people dead. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian government security forces gunman passes in front of an Arabic graffiti that reads "From Syria to Palestine", at one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes erupted in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Druze gunmen stand next of their sect religious flag at one of Jaramana suburb entrances checkpoint, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian government security forces stand guard on their checkpointat one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

A Syrian government security forces gunman stand guards on a checkpoint at one of Jaramana suburb entrances, after clashes in the area between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)