ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) late Saturday announced the arrest of an operative of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, the US-led coalition that supports the force announced, calling the operation’s success a hindrance to ISIS activities in the region. SDF and coalition forces detained Mohammed al-Sayid, a proven ISIS operative, in a “successful execution,” a statement from the coalition’s Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force - Levant (SOJTF-Levant) read, adding that Sayid was “known for leading several ISIS cells” that broadened the terror group’s operations. “The success of this operation will disrupt ISIS’s financial and lethal aid networks in northeast Syria,” said SOJTF-Levant spokesperson Jonathan Ferrer. “The SDF remains an effective and credible partner of choice in maintaining the enduring defeat of ISIS.” ISIS seized control of swathes of Syria in 2014 but the group was declared territorially defeated in 2019 after the SDF overran its last bastion in Baghouz. However, the terror group continues to pose a serious risk in the region through hit-and-run attacks, abductions, and bombings. About a thousand US troops stationed in Syria are part of an international coalition that has fought ISIS in the country since 2014. The coalition has been an ally of the SDF since 2017, providing the forces with weapons, military equipment, and advisers. On Wednesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had detained three ISIS members in eastern Syria without revealing further details. Two more ISIS members were killed by the SDF as they were preparing for a suicide bombing attack in early April, according to CENTCOM.
