“Our forces raided the hideout of the terrorist cell and successfully captured two terrorists, Abdul Sattar Abdul Fattah al-Muhammad, known as “Abu Amira,” and his brother, Muhammad Abdul Fattah al-Muhammad, known as “Abu al-Baraa,” the SDF said in a statement.
The operation, supported by the US-led international coalition, was carried out in al-Mansoura, a large town some 25 kilometers southwest of Raqqa, the former de facto capital of ISIS’s so-called “caliphate.”
“The two terrorists were involved in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and operated a facility specialized in producing weapon silencers and explosive devices,” the statement added.
On Tuesday, another SDF operation captured an ISIS operative in Hasaka province’s Til Kochar area, near the Iraqi border. The operative managed ISIS-affiliated Telegram accounts and recruited youth to join the extremist group, according to the SDF statement.
The operations come amid an escalation of ISIS attacks in the area, particularly targeting Kurdish-led forces and civilians, with the militants seeking to exploit a security vacuum sparked by increased instability following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
ISIS and its so-called “caliphate” was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq, but the group has recently sought to regain ground, especially after the fall of the Assad regime.
The SDF, backed by the United States, is the de facto army of northeast Syria (Rojava), and has fought to prevent the militants from reestablishing a foothold in the shifting security landscape.
Earlier in June, an SDF operation in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka captured another ISIS operative.
