ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Counterterrorism forces in Hasaka province, northeast Syria (Rojava) captured a suspected member of the Islamic State (ISIS) late Thursday. He is accused of planning a rocket attack against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and anti-ISIS global coalition, the latter said on Friday.
“InSF HAT conducted an operation last night in Shaddadi, Syria that led to the capture of a #Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIS] member who was planning a rocket attack against @cmoc_SDF and Coalition forces,” the US-led coalition said in a tweet, referring to the Kurdish Internal Security Forces’ (Asayish) counterterrorism forces.
This follows a number of recent attacks on the SDF and coalition forces in the area.
The Coalition said in a statement on Wednesday that they were targeted earlier in the day with eight rounds of indirect fire at SDF’s military base, Green Village, which includes “a small Coalition advisory presence,” in northeast Syria. It added that “the attack did not cause any casualties, but several rounds impacted inside the Coalition base and caused minor damage.”
The statement also noted that the Coalition “responded swiftly and fired six rounds of artillery towards the point of origin of the attack just outside Mayadin, Syria.” The Coalition claimed that Iran-backed militia groups fired on them and the SDF “from within civilian infrastructure with no regard for civilian safety.”
The Coalition forces have also been attacked in Iraq recently, especially during the second anniversary of the assassination of Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press briefing late Thursday that the US does not attribute the latest attacks on their military in Syria and Iraq to any specific group.
The Pentagon late Tuesday said their troops in Iraq and Syria “remain at risk,” following the Wednesday attack on the Coalition in Syria.
"We continue to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran. But again, I don't have specific attribution on who was responsible for these specific sites," Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby said.
ISIS controlled swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in 2014 but it was declared territorially defeated in 2017 and 2019 respectively. However, the group still poses threat to both countries and the Coalition forces whose combat mission in Iraq ended late 2021.
The Kurdish-led SDF is the Coalition’s main ally in the fight against ISIS.
