SDF detained 140 ISIS members in Syria since fall of caliphate: Coalition
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have carried out 50 operations against Islamic State sleeper cells, detaining 140 militants since the fall of the group’s caliphate on March 23, the US-led coalition announced on Friday.
Despite the SDF and the coalition declaring the defeat of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate months ago, sleeper cell attacks have persisted in liberated areas.
“These operations resulted in the detention of more than 140 known terrorists and the removal of more than 3,000 improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance,” the US-led coalition stated.
This week, counterterrorism units linked to the SDF also arrested five members of the Islamic State in Raqqa and Manbij.
On June 18, the US-led coalition supported the largest clearing operation since March in the village of Abu Naytl.
According to the coalition, Islamic State militants “infiltrated the village, inciting tribal violence and threatening community leaders.”
One thousand SDF fighters, with the support of the US-led coalition, participated in the operation and cleared the village.
According to Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, Deputy Commander for Stability for the coalition, constant pressure by both the SDF in Syria and Iraqi Security Force clearance operations in Iraq have caused the militants to regroup in order to continue their attacks.
“Operations like this show just how much progress has been made in destroying Daesh [Arab acronym for the Islamic State],” said Ghika.
“But that doesn't mean the fight is won. Daesh doesn't need territory to remain a global and regional threat as it attempts to resurge. Our resolve remains firm, and we will continue to assist our partners in consolidating their gains and pursuing the remnants of Daesh.”
Nicholas A. Heras, a Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said the Islamic State’s intelligence branch is following a deliberate policy of seeding its local Syrian operatives throughout northern and eastern Syria since the defeat of its caliphate.
“The ISIS strategy now is to make it very difficult for the Coalition and the SDF to provide security, govern, and provide administration after ISIS,” Heras told Kurdistan 24.
He said that Islamic State agents continue to form sleeper cells that “were kept secret even from most of the ISIS leadership.”
According to Heras, rooting out the sleeper cells is painstaking counterintelligence work that requires “a lot of time, effort, and coordination between the Coalition and the SDF.”
Editing by Nadia Riva