SDF says fighter killed in ISIS attack

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — One member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was killed and two others were injured in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) in eastern Syria, the Kurdish-led force said on Friday.

An SDF unit was on patrol in western Deir ez-Zor province when the attack occurred.

"The terrorists launched their cowardly attack on motorcycles, using machine guns. A clash ensued between our forces and the attacking terrorist cells, after which the terrorists fled under the fire of our fighters. The attack resulted in the martyrdom of one of our fighters and the wounding of two others," the SDF said. 

"The attack is part of the terrorist organization’s futile attempts to destabilize our regions, taking advantage of the security vacuum prevailing in Syria after the fall of the defunct regime," it added. 

The extremist group, whose so-called caliphate was dismantled in Syria by the SDF in 2019 with the help of the US-led global coalition against ISIS, remains a threat and has exploited a changing security landscape following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. 

The SDF has carried out numerous operations this year to counter what they say is a resurgence in ISIS activity targeting both their forces and civilians. The SDF functions as the de facto military force in the Kurdish-majority northeast Syria (Rojava). It remains a key partner of the global coalition. 

An estimated 2,000 ISIS militants remain active in the Syrian desert, an SDF spokesperson told Rudaw in July.

The United States army said on Friday that it carried out a raid to kill a suspected senior ISIS leader in Syria. Iraq previously announced the death in what it said was a joint operation with the US-led coalition, but the army’s statement did not acknowledge an Iraqi role.