Syrian authorities foiled an attempt by Islamic State group jihadists to blow up a revered Shiite shrine in a Damascus suburb, a source within Syria's intelligence agency told state new agency SANA on Saturday.

Some Syrians and foreign powers have worried that the country's new leaders, who are from the Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that forced Assad out on Dec. 8, may impose strict Islamic governance on a country with numerous minority groups such as Druze, Kurds, Christians and Shi'ites.