ISIS threatens to assassinate AANES employees in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – The Islamic State (ISIS) threatened on Wednesday to assassinate the employees of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.
A source from the town of al-Hawayij, 40 km east of Deir ez-Zor, told North Press that the employees of the local council and municipality found pieces of papers with the ISIS slogan on them written with their names and tasks.
The content of the papers was a threat to killing 18 employees in case they continue to work within the Autonomous Administration’s institutions, according to the source.
He added that the majority of the employees whose names were mentioned in the papers, resigned for fear of ISIS carrying out its threat.
Although the SDF launches intensive security operations, the countryside of Deir ez-Zor has recently witnessed an increase in killing incidents carried out against SDF members, employees of the Autonomous Administration, tribal figures and civil residents.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
Earlier on Wednesday, ISIS claimed targeting a vehicle of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in al-Zerr town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.