Security

SDF says arrested 27 ISIS suspects in Raqqa

The arrests came during raids on suspected ISIS positions in a number of villages and camps in rural Raqqa province, the SDF military communications center said.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/01/31 18:02

The 27 ISIS suspects detained by US-led SDF fighters in the Raqqa countryside. (Photo: SDF’s Coordination and Military Operations Center)

Syria Rojava Syria ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested 27 ISIS suspects in Raqqa's countryside, the SDF said on Monday.

The arrests came during raids on a number of villages and camps in rural Raqqa province, the SDF military communications center said on Twitter.

During the operation, the SDF fighters confiscated caches of weapons that "were being used to prepare terrorist attacks in the area."

Raqqa was liberated from ISIS in October 2017 by the SDF with support from the US-led coalition. The entirety of ISIS's self-styled caliphate was destroyed following the SDF's capture of the eastern town of Baghouz in March 2019.

The SDF rarely carries out operations against ISIS sleeper cells in Raqqa since most ISIS sleeper cell activity is in Deir al-Zor.

The operation comes after the SDF and US-led coalition on Sunday said that the makeshift al-Sina'a prison in Hasakah was completely recaptured following the surrender of the remaining ISIS fighters.

ISIS launched its attack on al-Sina'a prison, which holds 3,000 to 3,500 suspected terrorists, with an explosive-laden car on Jan. 20 as detainees rioted inside.

A senior US official told the New York Times that an estimated 200 prisoners had escaped at the time. However, this number has not been confirmed by the SDF.

The United States on Monday commended the SDF for retaking full control of the Hasakah prison from ISIS.