Waddah Marwan Taisan, also known as Al-Awdah, was captured in Hasaka’s Til Kochar area, near the Iraqi border, in a “special security operation” with US-led coalition forces on May 22, the SDF said in a statement.
“He managed several Telegram accounts affiliated with the terrorist organization, through which he promoted its extremist ideology and encouraged youth to join its ranks using fabricated narratives and false claims,” the statement added.
The operation came amid an escalation of ISIS attacks in the area, particularly targeting Kurdish-led forces and civilians, with the militants seeking to exploit a security vacuum sparked by increased instability following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
ISIS and its so-called “caliphate” was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, two years after its defeat in Iraq, but the group has recently sought to regain ground, especially after the fall of the Assad regime.
The SDF, backed by the United States, is the de facto army of Rojava, and has fought to prevent the militants from reestablishing a foothold in the shifting security landscape.
Earlier in June, an SDF operation in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka captured another ISIS operative.
