ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the capture of a "dangerous" Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cell member during a security operation in northeast Syria, as part of their ongoing crackdown on the group’s remnants.
In a statement released Monday evening, the SDF said its Military Operations Teams (TOL), backed by the US-led Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, “successfully captured a dangerous terrorist” identified as Ahmad al-Mahmoud and commonly known as Abu Mansour, during a “precise” operation in Raqqa, central southern Rojava.
The apprehension followed “extensive surveillance and intelligence gathering” on Abu Mansour’s “movements and activities,” the SDF said. “After confirming his location, our forces moved swiftly to surround and capture him without any casualties.”
The suspect is reportedly “involved in a series of terrorist operations,” including attacks against SDF forces, the Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and civilians.
Following a blitz offensive in 2014, ISIS rose to power after it seized vast territories in Iraq and Syria and declared a so-called “caliphate” spanning both countries.
The SDF played a key role in defeating ISIS in Syria in 2019 and in capturing thousands of the group’s militants. It operates alongside hundreds of US troops as part of the Washington-led international coalition to defeat ISIS and serves as the de facto military force in Rojava.
The latest operation comes amid a surge of ISIS attacks targeting Kurdish-held regions.
Earlier on Monday, the SDF said they "successfully thwarted" a suicide attack by an ISIS “terrorist cell” against one of their positions in Raqqa’s northern countryside.
During "direct clashes with the terrorist cell, one of the terrorists was wounded and subsequently detonated his explosive belt,” the SDF noted, adding, “Our fighters managed to eliminate the second terrorist in the course of the engagement."
The Kurdish-led force further noted that three of its fighters were slightly wounded during the confrontation.
On Saturday, the SDF announced the arrest of 51 ISIS suspects in an extensive operation in Hasaka city, northeast Rojava (Rojava). A large cache of weapons was seized in the process.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported in early August that “ISIS has carried out 152 operations” in Kurdish-held regions since the beginning of 2025. These include “armed assaults, targeted killings, and bombings.”
The operations have resulted in 64 deaths, comprising 45 SDF fighters, one SDF-affiliated member, ten civilians, and eight ISIS militants, SOHR then said.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi has repeatedly warned about the ongoing threat posed by ISIS, particularly within detention centers and displacement camps housing suspected ISIS members and their families in Rojava.
In January, Abdi underscored the need for intensified efforts, stating, “If we don’t want to see ISIS make a comeback, we must continue the fight with greater urgency.”
