Unknown gunmen assassinate SDF leader in Deir ez-Zor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Unknown gunmen shot dead a leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, the North Press Agency (NPA) reported on Tuesday.

"Two gunmen on a motorbike shot an SDF leader dead in Sweidan town, east of Deir ez-Zor," a military source told NPA.

According to the media outlet, no party has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but the Islamic State (ISIS) is suspected to be involved. 

The SDF and Syrian regime forces control Deir ez-Zor province, but ISIS is still active in the area. 

Deir ez-Zor is the focal point of ISIS attacks in north and east Syria.

ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019. The militants, however, remain a threat on both sides of the border, carrying out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions.

In its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed on Thursday it had conducted 21 attacks in Syria between April 22 and April 28, killing and injuring 34 people.