Turkey asks Britain to help protect Syria’s president

Turkey’s intelligence agency has asked its British counterpart, MI6, to take a larger role in protecting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa following recent assassination plots, Reuters reported, citing five sources familiar with the matter.

The request highlights growing anxiety over Islamic State’s resurgence, with the group declaring Sharaa its “number one foe” and mounting multiple attacks last month.

Turkey, Britain, and the U.S. have all backed Sharaa since he toppled Bashar al-Assad.

A Turkish source said MIT appealed for more support after a “high-risk plot” in February.

A Western intelligence source suggested Turkey wants a Western presence in Damascus to create a buffer between Turkish and Israeli agencies, currently at odds.

But a Syrian security source said a physical British presence would be “highly risky.”