SDF launches new anti-ISIS campaign in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

The ‘Deterrence of Terrorism’ operation “targets ISIS hideouts and their cells that threaten stability and civil peace in the areas of Deir Ezzor,” the SDF announced, noting militants have increased attacks on the civilian population.

On the first day, 24 suspected ISIS members were detained in the towns of al-Basira and al-Shahel.

The first phase of the campaign began in early June in coordination with the US-led global coalition. The SDF arrested 110 ISIS members and confiscated large amounts of ammunition.

This stage will cover ground near the Euphrates River and “any other areas where necessary,” Adnan Afrini, SDF commander in Deir ez-Zor, said in a video published by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Twitter. The YPG is the backbone of the SDF.

ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 and in Iraq in 2017, but the group remains a threat on both sides of the border, including carrying out hit-and-run attacks and abductions.

The Coalition said in a tweet on Friday that their allies in Iraq and Syria have carried out 16 operations against ISIS in the last week, leading to the detention of 26 ISIS fighters. “Daesh cannot hide itself in Iraq and Syria,” read the tweet in Kurdish, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

The current campaign is at the “request of the people, chieftains, and elderly of the tribes of the region, especially after ISIS attacks on civilians increased and posed a direct threat to their lives,” the SDF stated.

Relations are tense between Arab tribes of Deir ez-Zor and the Kurdish-dominated SDF and political administration of northeastern Syria. On Friday, conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported skirmishes between SDF and demonstrators protesting a new school curriculum.

According to the Observatory, the curriculum includes instruction on multiple religions, and “called for the division of Syria.” Teachers and parents say this contradicts local customs and traditions.

Last year, the Kurdish leadership met with representatives of some 70 clans and tribes to strengthen frayed ties.