ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Tuesday that they had thwarted two separate Islamic State (ISIS) attacks targeting military checkpoints in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah provinces. The SDF also warned of an uptick in militant activity aimed at destabilizing the region.
“Our forces thwarted two separate ISIS attacks targeting our military checkpoints in the eastern Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah countrysides,” the SDF said in a statement.
Regarding the incident in Hasakah, the SDF reported that the attack occurred when one of their fighters stopped a “suspicious civilian vehicle” at a checkpoint. The vehicle was found to be carrying weapons and ammunition. Shortly afterward, two ISIS militants on a motorcycle launched an attack on the checkpoint. The SDF repelled the attack, which resulted in material damage but no casualties.
In the Deir ez-Zor countryside, an SDF patrol came under fire from an “ISIS cell” while conducting a routine security operation.
“Our forces responded effectively to the attack,” the SDF stated, adding that “the losses inflicted on the terrorists remain unknown.” The SDF reported only minor material damage and confirmed that there were no casualties among their ranks.
The SDF has been warning for months about a resurgence in ISIS activity targeting both their forces and civilians, particularly in oil-rich areas like Deir ez-Zor, which remains partially under their control.
Just a day earlier, on Monday, the SDF reported another ISIS attack in eastern Syria that resulted in the death of one SDF fighter and injuries to another.
Though ISIS was territorially defeated in 2019, the group has increasingly attempted to regroup and reassert its influence - especially following the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. In response, the SDF has intensified efforts to prevent the group’s militants from regaining a foothold in the region’s volatile security environment.
