Kurdish-led anti-terror units arrest 3 ISIS suspects in northern Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Anti-terror units linked to local Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces, also known as Asayish, arrested three ISIS suspects that they said had been planning attacks in the northern Syrian province of Hasakah.

“A weapons cache was also seized that included 1 AK-47, 2 shotguns, 2 rifles and several boxes of ammunition,” the official Twitter account of the US-led Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT) wrote in a post on Sunday.

Despite the announcement by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led coalition announcing the defeat of the extremist group’s so-called caliphate on Mar. 23, 2019, ISIS sleeper cell attacks continue in multiple areas liberated from its brutal rule.

The SDF and the coalition regularly carry out such operations against ISIS to prevent the extremist group from making a significant resurgence in the region.

The SOJTF LEVANT also confirmed that Counter-Terrorism Units (YAT) of the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF arrested one ISIS intelligence official in the Khawitla region of Syria, most likely in Deir al Zour province.

Read More: SDF arrests another five ISIS facilitators in northeast Syria

Recently, the SDF announced it had arrested five alleged ISIS facilitators in northeast Syria in operations carried out from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, the SOJTF LEVANT announced on Saturday. 

In the preceding week, the forces arrested another such suspect in the city of Raqqa, the former capital of ISIS’ so-called caliphate in Syria, in a previous joint operation with the US-led coalition.

Read More: SDF arrests ISIS facilitator in Raqqa

The coalition and the SDF have had success in reducing ISIS sleeper cell activity in northeast Syria due to their continued cooperation in the area.