A violent explosion hits Al-Raqqah city near a checkpoint of the SDF
Al-Raqqah Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the security incidents continue in Al-Raqqah city which was the former capital and main stronghold of the “Islamic State” organization in Syria, along with the activity of its cells in the city and the surrounding countryside, even through direct assassinations, detonating IEDs or attacks under the cover of darkness, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored today, Tuesday the 9th of October 2018, the sound of a violent explosion in the area of Al-Qitar Street near a checkpoint of the Syria Democratic Forces in the city, caused by the explosion of a booby trapped motorcycle near a bread furnace in the area, without information about human losses, and the Syrian Observatory monitored last night the sound of gunfire caused by crossfire between unidentified gunmen and between the checkpoints around the sugar plant, at the northern outskirts of Al-Raqqah city, then the gunmen escaped, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 29th of September 2018, that it monitored intense gunfire in al-Raqqah city, the sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that it was caused by clashes between a cell of the “Islamic State” Organization against members of the Interior Kurdish Security Forces “Asayish”, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the clashes broke out between the cell, which is about 10 members of the organization, while it was trying to raise the flag of the “Islamic State” organization opposite to the Asayish Center in al-Dar’eiyah area in al-Raqqah city, the process of raising the flag of the Organization came today, the 29th of September 2018, which is the 51st anniversary of the organization’s announcement of the “caliphate”, which took place on the 29th of June 2014.
The reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the clashes kill at least 2 members of the cell while 4 other members were captured, in addition to the flee of several other members, while a state of alert prevails al-Raqqah city in search for the fleeing members, also these clashes come 22 days after the Kurdish internal security forces “Asayish”, and the anti-terrorist forces are conducting a security operation from the vicinity of al-Raqqah city and its countryside until al-Tabaqa area in al-Raqqah province, in search of ISIS cells after the escalation of assassinations within the eastern Euphrates areas, of explosions and gunfire that target members of the Syria Democratic Forces, and sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the last mentioned arrested several people and took them to their headquarters, while one person was killed by gunshot in Kasrat Srur area south of al-Raqqah city, and the people accused the Syria Democratic Forces of firing at the man while he was trying to flee the area, while the Syria Democratic Forces accused him of belonging to an ISIS cell and that he shot at their members while trying to flee the area, which prompted SDF members to shoot and kill him.
It worth mentioning that in the recent months al-Raqqah witnessed arrests of citizens and people accused of belonging to ISIS cells, where the Syrian Observatory published on the 20th of August 2018 that a state of tension is prevailing Al-Raqqah city as a result of the detention of a number of citizen women and holding them in one of the security centers in Al-Raqqah, before releasing the most of them, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; about 25 citizen women with 7 of their children, were arrested while they were carrying out a sit-in in front of a prison in the area of Al-Sawami’ in the vicinity of Al-Raqqah city, demanding the release of their families of the members of Thowwar al-Raqqah Brigade, where this prison includes tens of detainees of the members of this Brigade, tens of whom were released in the past few days, but the forces presented in the vicinity of the prison requested the support of Asayish Forces which came and arrested 25 women of those who were located in the place, with 7 children who were with them, and detained them in one of their headquarters in the area, then, and after mediations by several parties, they released at least 18 women of them, while the others are still detained, and the families of the women who were detained confirmed that despite the presence of an American patrol near the place of detention, it did not interfered, where we in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights call on the Syria Democratic Forces and Asayish Forces to release the rest of detained citizen women immediately, stop detaining those who have opposite opinion or thought, and to release all the political detainees and the prisoners of conscience detained in SDF prisons and detention centers.
And the Syrian Observatory published on the 24th of June 2018, that about 5000 members of the security forces, the Syria Democratic Forces, and intelligence members arrived during the hours of last night to al-Raqqah, and surrounded the city and spread in its roads, public squares, and alleys, and then this morning they started to carry out raids, after which they have arrested more than 200 members of Thowwar al-Raqqah Brigade, after carrying out raids on headquarters and houses inside al-Raqqah city and on its outskirts, while the raids and clashes resulted in the death of 4 fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces, while 7 others were injured in these clashes, while the Syria Democratic Forces justified its alert and curfew they imposed; by saying that they received information that sleeper cells have entered al-Raqqah city to launch an attack and carry out retaliatory operations inside the city and spread chaos, while this alert came after the series of targeting by unknown gunmen for the Syria Democratic Forces; inside al-Raqqah city, its surroundings and its countryside, through bombings and shootings that targeted their members, which killed and injured several them, while the Syrian Observatory published yesterday morning, Sunday, that Thowwar al-Raqqah Brigade issued a statement and the Syrian Observatory received a copy of it, it says:
“Our headquarters in al-Raqqah city and its surroundings are under a treacherous operation by the militia of SDF, during which SDF militia have surrounded our headquarters with members and heavily armed vehicles, we calling upon the International Coalition Forces and especially the United States of America to intervene immediately to stop this treacherous aggression, and we hold them fully responsible for any consequences caused by this operation, and we call upon our people in al-Raqqah to take a real and serious stand with their brothers in Thowwar al-Raqqah Brigade to stand up against SDF and against their repressive and oppressive practices.”, while the Syrian Observatory published on the 27th of May 2018 that areas in Al-Raqqah city have been witnessing tension between the Syria Democratic Forces supported by the International Coalition on one hand, and Liwaa Thowwar Al-Raqqah on the other, since today evening, Sunday the 27th of May 2018, amid mobilizations by each party in the area, accompanied by the sound of sporadic gunfire, amid a demonstration which went out in al-Rumaila neighborhood in the city, in an attempt to prevent the SDF from arresting a commander in Liwaa Thowwar Al-Raqqah, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the International Coalition’s forces have intervened to settle the ongoing dispute between the SDF and Liwaa Thowwar Al-Raqqah.