ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish-led forces reported arresting a senior ISIS leader Thursday evening near Raqqa.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operation was done in coordination with the international coalition against ISIS, the SDF’s media officer Mustafa Bali stated.
Further details, including the identity of the person captured, will be released at a later date, the SDF announced.
The SDF gained control of Raqqa, the former capital of the so-called Islamic State, in October 2017 after months of fighting that left large portions of the city in ruins. They have struggled to secure the city, however, and ISIS sleeper cells are a daily threat.
The force suspended operations against ISIS in the Hajin area of the Euphrates River valley on October 31 after Turkey carried out attacks against Kurdish positions in the Kobane region of Rojava, northern Syria.
According to a conflict monitor, the coalition and SDF have kept up their aerial bombardment against ISIS in the Hajin pocket, despite halting ground operations.
The SDF “escalated” shelling of ISIS positions while the coalition “continued intensive airstrikes,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated on Thursday.
Coalition warplanes destroyed a number of ISIS supply routes and three command centres while the SDF destroyed a car bomb that was approaching their troops, the SDF’s media office stated on Friday.
The SDF have reportedly suffered many casualties recently as ISIS stepped up attacks, taking advantage of bad weather.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operation was done in coordination with the international coalition against ISIS, the SDF’s media officer Mustafa Bali stated.
Further details, including the identity of the person captured, will be released at a later date, the SDF announced.
The SDF gained control of Raqqa, the former capital of the so-called Islamic State, in October 2017 after months of fighting that left large portions of the city in ruins. They have struggled to secure the city, however, and ISIS sleeper cells are a daily threat.
The force suspended operations against ISIS in the Hajin area of the Euphrates River valley on October 31 after Turkey carried out attacks against Kurdish positions in the Kobane region of Rojava, northern Syria.
According to a conflict monitor, the coalition and SDF have kept up their aerial bombardment against ISIS in the Hajin pocket, despite halting ground operations.
The SDF “escalated” shelling of ISIS positions while the coalition “continued intensive airstrikes,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated on Thursday.
Coalition warplanes destroyed a number of ISIS supply routes and three command centres while the SDF destroyed a car bomb that was approaching their troops, the SDF’s media office stated on Friday.
The SDF have reportedly suffered many casualties recently as ISIS stepped up attacks, taking advantage of bad weather.
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