“The SDF, internal security forces [Asayish] and the Women’s Protection Units [YPJ] in Hasaka city are continuing their operation, and 39 elements of the terrorist organization ISIS have been arrested, in addition to the seizure of weapons and ammunition,” the SDF said in a statement.
The campaign’s stated goal is to dismantle ISIS remnants and thwart potential plans by the jihadists to attack prison facilities in the area.
Hasaka is home to al-Sina’a prison, a large complex that houses ISIS militants known locally as Ghweran prison. An attempted prison break at the facility in January 2022 left at least 322 people dead after the SDF laid a week-long siege to thwart the escape.
The current operation comes amid a resurgence of ISIS activities in Syria where the jihadists have sought to take advantage of instability following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.” The group was declared territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after it was routed in Iraq. Despite its military defeat, it continues to pose security risks, particularly in the vast eastern deserts of Syria.
Last month, an SDF spokesperson told Rudaw that an estimated 2,000 ISIS militants remain active in the Syrian desert.
On Friday, the US-backed force dismantled a “dangerous” ISIS cell in eastern Deir ez-Zor province, capturing two suspects and seizing weapons and ammunition.
