ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Saturday that they freed four of their fighters from suspected Islamic State (ISIS) captivity, three days after they were captured in eastern Syria.
"The Deir Ezzor Military Council forces have successfully freed four of their fighters, who had been abducted by a cell suspected of links to ISIS," the SDF said in a statement.
"The abduction occurred last Wednesday while the fighters were at a health center in the town of Gharanij, east of Deir Ezzor, receiving medical treatment outside the scope of their official duties,” it added.
The Deir ez-Zor Military Council is a local force affiliated with the SDF and is responsible for security in SDF-held areas of the Arab-majority province.
During their sweeping operation in Gharanij, the SDF and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) detained 12 ISIS suspects.
The SDF said the “campaign is part of ongoing efforts to enhance security and stability in eastern Deir ez-Zor countryside.”
The Kurdish-led SDF and its affiliates have carried out numerous operations this year to counter what they say is a resurgence in ISIS activity, targeting both their forces and civilians.
Since its territorial defeat in Syria in 2019, ISIS has been trying to regain its strength, particularly after a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on December 8 toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has recently reported a significant uptick in ISIS operations in areas controlled by the SDF and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
According to the war monitor, “ISIS has carried out 152 operations” in DAANES-administered regions since the beginning of 2025. These include “armed assaults, targeted killings, and bombings.”
The operations have resulted in 64 deaths, comprising 45 SDF fighters, one SDF-affiliated member, ten civilians, and eight ISIS militants, according to SOHR.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi has repeatedly warned about the threat posed by ISIS, including within detention centers and displacement camps housing suspected ISIS members and their families in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“If we don’t want to see ISIS make a comeback, we must continue the fight with greater urgency,” he said in January.
Backed by the United States, the SDF functions as the de facto military force in Rojava and remains a key partner of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
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