Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/RAQQA: Syrian Kurdish armed forces captured a local commander of Daesh in a raid in eastern Syria as part of an ongoing operation and targeting sleeper cells in Raqqa, the United States-backed forces announced on Thursday.
According to Arab News, the Syrian Democratic Forces said that the commander has served as the chief head of the extremist group’s faction for Raqqa and was among the 68 militants detained in operation.
Targeted raid and operation
The operation and targeted raid started this week in response to a December attack by Daesh that targeted army and security buildings in Raqqa and killed six Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The captured militant Daesh commander was identified as Atallah Al-Maythan.
A Kurdish commander, Mazloum Abdi, said that they had indications of “serious preparations” by Daesh for attacks.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Britain-based opposition war monitor, said that Daesh also targeted an army intelligence prison holding some 200 extremist militants in the December attack.
Daesh lost all territorial control in Syria and Iraq in 2019, following a yearslong US-backed campaign that defeated the so-called caliphate, where Raqqa was once the Daesh de facto capital.
Extremist militant sleeper cells persist and have since killed scores of Iraqis and Syrians.
Syrian Kurdish and United States armed forces frequently conduct raids targeting Daesh sleeper cells in eastern and northern Syria.
