Despite comprising over 70 ex-ISIS fighters and commanders | National Army-backed faction announces arresting ISIS cell in Aleppo countryside

Aleppo province: SOHR activists have reported that Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction, affiliated to the Turkish-backed National Army, has announced that it managed to arrest an ISIS cell which was active in areas under the control of Turkish forces and their proxies in the northern and north-eastern countryside of Aleppo. The arrested ISIS cell comprised six members, including ISIS general administrator in “al-Bab State”, who was known by his initials as M. H. and hailed from Mahakan town in Deir Ezzor countryside, while the other members were from the countryside of Deir Ezzor, Idlib and Aleppo.

 

According to Ahrar al-Sharqiyah, the cell was responsible for planting IEDs in areas under the control of Turkish forces and their proxies in Aleppo countryside, assassinations which targeted leaders and militiamen of the “National Army” and attacks on Turkish forces in the region.

 

It is worth noting that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has confirmed that over 70 ex-ISIS leaders and members, documented by names, have joined the ranks of Ahrar al-Sharqiyah in “Peace Spring” and “Euphrates Shield” areas which are under the control of Turkish forces and their proxy factions.

 

The United States of America has imposed sanctions on the Ahrar al-Sharqiyah which operates in north Syria over the killing of the Kurdish politician Mrs. “Hafrin Khalaf” in July 2020, while the UN Human Rights Office described the killing of “Hafrin Khalaf” as an act of potential war crime.