The incident occurred on a highway between Hasaka city and the Abyad area. Three SDF members sustained minor injuries, according to a statement from the US-backed force that also revealed that an ISIS “suicide bomber” was riding the motorbike involved in the attack.
The assault came days after the SDF ended a week-long operation inside the notorious al-Hol camp in the same city. Around 40,000 people, mostly families of ISIS fighters, are held in the camp. Nearly 80 ISIS suspects were captured in the mission.
The SDF said they also discovered “a woman’s body tortured and murdered in the camp, based on the confessions of an involved woman.”
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called on the international community to repatriate their nationals from al-Hol, but many countries are hesitant to take back their citizens due to security concerns.
ISIS controlled vast swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014 but was territorially defeated in both countries by 2019. Despite its collapse, the extremist group continues its hit-and-run attacks in areas with security vacuums.
