Counter-terrorism unit arrests terrorist cell, including ISIS leader in Manbij

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Anti-terrorist units arrested an ISIS leader in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on Friday, local security officials said.

According to a statement released by the Manbij Military Council (MMC), the MMC’s anti-terrorism unit arrested the ISIS leader Jihad Jamal Hamidi, also known as Azzam.

As Hamidi was previously known to have been based in Jarablus, the MMC accused Turkey of sending Hamidi to Manbij to destabilize the area.

During the raid, a factory for manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) was discovered. Three suspected militants of the cell were arrested, and one suspect was wounded after trying to escape.

A number of weapons, equipment, and explosive devices were also confiscated.

The MMC said Azzam and the members of the cell were responsible for previous attacks in Manbij, including a car bomb that killed civilians at the Martyrs' Roundabout in 2021.

A woman and child were killed, and five other people injured, when a car bomb detonated in the center of the Syrian city in November last year.

Read More: Rare car bomb attack kills woman and child in Syria’s Manbij

Despite the SDF’s and the US-led Coalition’s 2019 declaration that the extremist group’s so-called caliphate in Syria had been defeated, attacks by the group continue as security forces scramble to contain them. 

However, attacks in Manbij are relatively rare compared to other regions, but there are regular clashes between Turkish-backed groups and the MMC on the frontlines separating Turkish-controlled areas and the SDF-held areas.

Turkey has also carried out drone attacks in Manbij.

Read More: Syria's Manbij hit by Turkish drone strike for second time in two days

The MMC, supported by the SDF, liberated Manbij with US support in 2016 in one of the bloodiest campaigns Syria witnessed in the fight against the extremist group.