ISIS leader captured in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Islamic State (ISIS) leader was arrested in the province of Deir ez-Zor in northeast Syria (Rojava), the Kurdish administration announced on Saturday.

Kurdish-led internal security (Asayish) launched an operation in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor with the assistance of the US-led global coalition, where they captured the ISIS leader along with a cache of weapons and ammunition.

The Asayish said that the preliminary investigations into the captured leader are complete and he will be referred to the judiciary.  

The Asayish did not reveal the name of the leader or his role in the group.

ISIS swept through vast swathes of Syrian land in 2014 and was declared territorially defeated after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the coalition seized its last bastion in Baghouz in 2019. 

ISIS militants have continued to pose a threat, carrying out hit-and-run attacks on civilians and military targets of both the Syrian regime and the Kurdish-led authority. 

Since the start of this year, ISIS has carried out over 80 attacks targeting the SDF and Rojava’s administration, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.