SDF announces arrest of former ISIS leader in eastern Syria
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday announced the arrest of a former Islamic State (ISIS) leader near Deir ez-Zor, accusing him of transporting ammunition and money to the active cells of the group.
The SDF said in a statement late Wednesday that it carried out a security operation against an unnamed former leader of ISIS who is also the head of the group’s active cells in the region.
“The operation took place in the town of Jadeed Bakara, with the support of air surveillance from the global coalition, where the leader, who was active in transporting weapons, explosive devices, ammunition and money to the cells of the organisation in the Deir ez-Zor region and north and east Syria, was arrested. He was also active in drawing up attack plans for the cells he leads,” read the statement.
The SDF has recently carried out several raids against ISIS in eastern Syria.
On Saturday, the force said it arrested an ISIS operative, Mohammed al-Sayid, in the same province.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land in 2014 but the group was declared territorially defeated in both countries by 2019. However, the terror group continues to pose a serious risk in the region through hit-and-run attacks, abductions, and bombings.
US Central Command said on Monday that its forces killed an ISIS senior leader, Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali who was an “operational planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.”
Two ISIS operatives were also killed in the operation which took place in northern Syria.
The SDF said in a statement late Wednesday that it carried out a security operation against an unnamed former leader of ISIS who is also the head of the group’s active cells in the region.
“The operation took place in the town of Jadeed Bakara, with the support of air surveillance from the global coalition, where the leader, who was active in transporting weapons, explosive devices, ammunition and money to the cells of the organisation in the Deir ez-Zor region and north and east Syria, was arrested. He was also active in drawing up attack plans for the cells he leads,” read the statement.
The SDF has recently carried out several raids against ISIS in eastern Syria.
On Saturday, the force said it arrested an ISIS operative, Mohammed al-Sayid, in the same province.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land in 2014 but the group was declared territorially defeated in both countries by 2019. However, the terror group continues to pose a serious risk in the region through hit-and-run attacks, abductions, and bombings.
US Central Command said on Monday that its forces killed an ISIS senior leader, Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali who was an “operational planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.”
Two ISIS operatives were also killed in the operation which took place in northern Syria.