Massive SDF-Coalition joint operation against ISIS enters third day
Lucas Chapman
NORTHEASTERN SYRIA (North Press) – The wide military campaign launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS to track and pursue ISIS cells in northeastern Syria entered its third day on Saturday.
On Thursday, SDF Spokesperson Kino Gabriel announced the beginning of a massive operation targeting ISIS sleeper cells in the areas from the eastern Syrian Desert on the banks of the Khabur River to the Iraqi-Syrian border regions. “This campaign will target ISIS's hideouts and hotbeds which were a source of concern to the people and that work to disturb security and stability in the region and threatens the return of ISIS,” read the public statement made by the General Command of the SDF on Friday.
The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and backed by the US-led Global Coalition, was the leading force responsible for ISIS’ fall in Syria, sacrificing over 13,000 fighters in the battles to regain territory from the terror group until the latter’s final loss in al-Baghouz on March 23, 2019.
ISIS sleeper cells have been active in the region since their defeat, but recent events, mainly the US troop withdrawal in January 2019 and subsequent Turkish invasion of the Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad regions in October of the same year, led to a security vacuum which emboldened the group. Last year, former Special Envoy to the Global Coalition Against ISIS Brett McGurk stated that “the Islamic State and other extremist groups will fill the void opened by [the US] departure.”
Northeastern Syria has witnessed ISIS activity tied to sleeper cells in the region, including a series of attacks which resulted in the death of an SDF fighter on May 17 in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. In addition to this, a major ISIS prison in Hasakah has witnessed repeated unrest as ISIS detainees attempted to take control of the prison, though anti-terror security forces associated with the SDF quickly controlled these uprisings.
On May 16, ISIS media accounts shared a nearly fifty-minute video which declared their loyalty to new leader Abu Ibraim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, showed ISIS militants executing civilians, and threatened to attack security forces in Iraq.
The Global Coalition has continued to provide support for the SDF in their enduring fight against sleeper cells. The Coalition has provided riot gear, anti-terror and anti-riot training, and logistical, intelligence, and air support for various SDF anti-ISIS operations over the past several months. These raids have resulted in the capture or deaths of several high-ranking ISIS officials, including those responsible for logistics.
According to what SDF commander Adnan Afrin told North Press on Thursday, more than 6,000 SDF fighters, including members of the SDF’s special and counterterrorism forces, are taking part in the campaign. As of the time of this report, more than a dozen alleged ISIS militants have been arrested. “The campaign is going well and achieving good results so far; we will continue until we accomplish the full mission,” Gabriel said regarding the progress of the operations until the current moment.