One leader, who was responsible for transferring weapons, was arrested in the countryside south of Hasaka, the SDF said in a statement. Weapons were seized during the operation.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The last of its so-called caliphate was defeated in Syria in 2019, but the group remains a threat on both sides of the border, particularly in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, which is controlled by both the SDF and regime forces.
Another ISIS leader was arrested in the countryside east of Hasaka near the al-Hol camp. He is suspected to be responsible for smuggling ISIS members from the camp, as well as murders inside the camp, the statement added.
Syria’s al-Hol camp is home to nearly 60,000 people, mostly women, and children with suspected links to ISIS militants. The SDF and Internal security forces (Asayish) launched an operation in late March targeting ISIS sleeper cells after a spate of murders in the camp, arresting more than 150 people.
Two ISIS members including a leading operative were arrested on July 18.
A total of 34 operations were conducted against ISIS in the first half of this year, the SDF said in early July, with 245 suspects arrested and three killed.
