Syrian authorities said they had arrested a Hezbollah-affiliated cell plotting to assassinate government officials, while the Lebanese armed group denied what it described as “false accusations.”

The Syrian Interior Ministry said it had carried out a “series of simultaneous security operations” in the Damascus countryside and in the provinces of Aleppo, Homs, Tartus, and Latakia.

It said the operations led to the “dismantling of an organized cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia, whose members had infiltrated Syrian territory after receiving intensive specialized training in Lebanon.”

Preliminary investigations revealed that the cell had been planning “targeted assassinations against high-level government officials,” the ministry said, adding that security forces had seized military equipment, including explosive devices and RPG launchers, among other weapons.

The ministry also published photos of 11 suspects, without specifying their nationalities, saying they included the individual responsible for planning and overseeing the assassinations.

Hezbollah, for its part, issued a statement “categorically denying the false accusations from the Syrian Interior Ministry.”

“The repetition of these claims by Syrian security authorities, despite our repeated declarations that Hezbollah has no presence inside Syrian territory, raises serious questions,” the Iran-backed group said.

It added that this “suggests that there are those who seek to ignite tensions and strife between the Syrian and Lebanese peoples.”