SDF captures ISIS emir, repels attack in eastern Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Tuesday that their elite units captured an Islamic State (ISIS) “emir” during a raid conducted in cooperation with the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province. Another ISIS militant was killed in a separate attack on one of the Kurdish-led forces’ outposts in the same province, the SDF added.

In a statement, the SDF said the Military Operations Units (TOL), “affiliated with our forces and operating in direct coordination with the Global Coalition, carried out a specialized high-value security operation” in the Deir ez-Zor countryside.”

The operation “led to the capture of the ISIS military emir, known as ‘Abu Zubayr - Samak,’ along with two members of his cell,” the Kurdish-led forces noted, adding that the raid followed “extensive intelligence monitoring” of the cell, which the SDF described as “one of the most dangerous ISIS networks.”

The SDF serves as the de facto military force in northeast Syria (Rojava) and remains the main partner of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in the country.

Importantly, the statement noted that the captured emir, Abu Zubayr, was responsible for “smuggling routes and communication lines between ISIS cells in the region and the al-Hol camp.” He also “oversaw the recruitment and training of children from ISIS families - known as ‘The Cubs of the Caliphate’ - preparing them for future combat roles,” the SDF said.

Al-Hol camp has long been notorious for its dire living conditions and the presence of radicalized individuals, earning a reputation as a potential incubator for extremism. While Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of its residents, thousands of people from other countries who joined ISIS or lived under its rule also remain in the camp.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the SDF said it had repelled an attack “carried out by an ISIS cell against one of our military posts in the village of al-Marashdah, in the al-Susah district of eastern Deir ez-Zor.” The clashes left “one terrorist operative dead and another critically wounded,” the statement added.

The SDF concluded by reaffirming their commitment to countering ISIS and pursuing all remaining cells “until terrorism is fully eradicated and lasting security and stability are ensured” in Deir ez-Zor and across Rojava.