Syria
A U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter watches black smoke billow from the last small piece of territory held by Islamic State militants as U.S. backed fighters pounded the area with artillery fire and occasional airstrikes in Baghouz, Syria, Sunday, March 3, 2019. Photo: Andrea Rosa/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced early Sunday morning the arrest of an Islamic State (ISIS) leader and three other members in Deir ez-Zor, according to its Coordination and Military Operations Centre.
The Coordination and Military Operations Centre of the SDF tweeted that a leader was arrested along with three other militants, as well as seizing a number of tech equipment, documents, and weapons.
It added that the raid was carried out in coordination with residents and the internal security forces (Asayish).
Anti-terrorism Forces #HAT #ISF has carried out 2 security ops in Sareen &DeirEzzor.
— Coordination & Military Ops Center - SDF (@cmoc_sdf) April 30, 2023
4 ISIS members were arrested, including leader of a terrorist cell.
Weapons, tech equipment,&documents were seized.
The cooperation between residents &ISF continues to maintain stability in NES. pic.twitter.com/M2xZrY7GfY
The arrests followed a wave of crackdowns on the group by the SDF in northeast Syria, in coordination with the global coalition against ISIS.
On Saturday, the coalition announced that the SDF arrested an ISIS weapon smuggler in an early morning raid on Friday, less than 24 hours after the capturing of another ISIS operative in northeast Syria.
On Thursday, SDF captured an ISIS logistics operative in a raid in Hasaka province and on Monday they arrested four ISIS members in Raqqa.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) stated that ISIS carried out 43 operations in the month of April, claiming to have killed 38 civilians and 46 Syrian regime forces and Iranian backed militia.
ISIS lost six of its commanders and members in security operations by the coalition and regime forces, reported SOHR.
ISIS has been degraded from its so-called caliphate that covered swathes of Iraq and Syria, though it continues to pose a security risk through kidnappings, hit-and-run attacks, and bombings. The Pentagon, in its latest quarterly report covering anti-ISIS operations from October through December 2022, estimated there are 6,000 to 10,000 fighters spread across Syria and Iraq.
Updated on May 1, 2023 at 10:04 am
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