Unidentified gunmen shot dead SDF member in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead on Thursday a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), east of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
“Unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle shot dead a member of the SDF near the main road in the center of the town of al- Busayrah, east of Deir ez-Zor,” a military source told North Press.
“The gunmen were wearing the traditional dress of the town’s residents. They were chanting slogans in support of ISIS after carrying out the operation. They then fled towards the desert of the town,” according to the same source.
The countryside of Deir ez-Zor was an ISIS enclave which was liberated in 2019 by the SDF and the US-led Global Coalition. After that, a civil autonomous administration was formed to run the affairs of the region. This civil administration is affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
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 Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS militarily.
Recently, the countryside of Deir ez-Zor has been witnessing a spike in killings which target members of the SDF, employees of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), tribal leaders and civilians, despite intensive security operations conducted by the SDF.
On Wednesday, residents of the town of al-Shuhail in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor found the body of an SDF member inside the irrigation canal near the Euphrates River.
On June 14 ISIS, through media close to it, claimed the killing of a member of the SDF in the town of al-Hassan, west of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.