ISIS kills three Kurdish security forces in Rojava

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three Kurdish security force members were killed in an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in Hasaka province, northeast Syria (Rojava) on Friday.

The Asayish, an internal security force, said ISIS attacked a vehicle of theirs on the Shaddadi-al-Hol highway, but did not provide further details.

“We pledge to follow in the footsteps of the martyrs who sacrificed themselves in order to achieve the principles and values of establishing freedom, justice, and dignity,” read a statement from the Asayish.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a war monitor that relies on a network of local sources within Syria, said an Asayish commander was among the dead.

“The attack was followed by violent clashes between the two sides, which led to the death of three members of Asayish Forces, including a commander, because the vehicle burned after a grenade that was inside the vehicle exploded when a gunshot hit it during the clashes,” the UK-based observatory said.

SOHR said it had documented 203 ISIS attacks in Rojava since early this year.

ISIS militants continue to pose a security risk in northeast Syria and Kurdish-led forces carry out regular operations against the group.

United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military’s regional command, earlier this month announced that its forces had partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to capture an ISIS leader accused of aiding suspected jihadists who had escaped from a detention facility in Raqqa days previously.