Internal Security Forces capture ISIS sleeper cell inside the proposed “safe zone”

Soluk – North-Press Agency

Counter-terrorism Units (HAT) of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in northeast Syria, in cooperation with the U.S. special forces raided eight targets in al-Jamous village, in the town of Soluk, northern Raqqa countryside, on the Syrian-Turkish borders within the proposed safe zone, as (HAT) managed to arrested four members of an Islamic State sleeper cells on Sunday’s early morning hours.

The raid resulted in the arrest of 4 ISIS operative sleeper cell members in the area, namely, Faisal Abd Ahmad, Abdulmajid Hassan, Saleh al-Hussein and Suleiman al-Hussein, while no other targets were found.

The detainees had mobile phones as well as individual weapons and some identifications, including refugee cards from Turkey.

The town of Soluk north of Raqqa on the Syrian-Turkish border is included in the areas covered by the recently agreed “security mechanism” between the United States, Turkey and the SDF.

Earlier, during a series of meetings held between the US-led Global Coalition forces and the military and civilian councils along with the Internal Security Forces in Sere-Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Gre Spi (Tal Abyad), the representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Global Coalition Heyman Tammi, confirmed that the withdrawal of YPG from the border area will be “in slow stages, gradually and with great caution, in anticipation of any danger that might allow the return of ISIS to the region”.

“In the last six months, the SDF has carried out several security operations against ISIS sleeper cells, more than 33 terrorists have been arrested in the area between Sere-Kaniye and Gre Spi,” Tammi said.

He also pointed out that “the security issue in the region is a very sensitive point for us, and we as the Syrian Democratic Forces are very cautious in moving to fighters of People’s Protection Units (YPG) away from the borders, and won’t let any security vacuum to take place instead”.