Syrian Democratic Forces arrested Islamic State terror suspected north of Deir al-Zor

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday carried out an operation with support from the US-led Coalition against a suspected Islamic State cell north of Deir al-Zor province.

“On December 26, our Special Forces and International Coalition Forces arrested a member of a terrorist cell north of Deir Ezzor, during a joint raid operation,” the SDF media center said in a brief press statement. It added the forces also confiscated ammunition at the site.

Despite the SDF and the US-led Coalition announcing the Islamic State’s defeat on March 23, 2019, in Baghouz, the terror group’s sleeper cell attacks persist in areas the Kurdish-led forces had liberated.

Islamic State cells are especially active in Deir al-Zor, where some local networks still maintain some links with leading members. Along with the extremists, Syrian regime combatants and Turkey-affiliated militant groups are also active in the region.

In response, the SDF has carried out campaigns with support from the US-led Coalition against remaining cells in northeastern Syria to prevent Islamic State’s resurgence.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Saturday that one SDF fighter was killed and another injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting their vehicle in al-Shuhayl town in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor.

In mid-December, the SDF said it dismantled a suspected terrorist cell that was smuggling Islamic State members and their families in the region and was cooperating with the group’s networks to carry out bombings and assassinations in Deir al-Zor.

According to a monthly report by the Rojava Information Center (RIC) published on Dec. 7, November saw the lowest number of sleeper cell attacks since records began following the 2019 destruction of the extremist group’s so-called caliphate.

The RIC said the majority of raids, nine, took place in Deir al-Zor, while Hasakah had four, Manbij two, and Raqqa had one. “No raids were documented in the al-Hol camp this month,” the report said.

Source: Kurdistan 24