Jan. 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have announced the arrest in recent days of some 92 suspected members of the jihadist organization Islamic State during a major security operation in northern Syria.
Operation “Lightning” began last Tuesday in the towns of Al Hol and Tal Hamis, known locations for operations by Islamic State cells, dispersed after their territorial defeat in 2017.
The raids have resulted in 52 and 40 arrests according to the two reports published so far by the FDS spokesman, Farhad Shami, on his Twitter account.
“Those arrested have confessed to their participation in terrorist acts” when it came to “arming Islamic State cells” to “carry out terrorist acts during the New Year holidays.”
The operation has been given the green light after the rise in terror attacks in the region and in retaliation for the jihadist attack earlier in the week on the SDF in Raqqa, which killed six fighters from the Kurdish force.
“The operation is still ongoing until the Islamic State cells are uprooted from the densely populated areas,” he explained. Among the detainees there are “intermediaries and suppliers” of terrorist material such as “weapons, ammunition, false documents and unauthorized military uniforms.”
