SDF launch anti-ISIS operation in response to deadly attack

SDF launch anti-ISIS operation in response to deadly attack

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched Wednesday a large-scale operation targeting Islamic State (ISIS) cells in the terror group’s former stronghold of Raqqa in retaliation to a deadly ISIS attack on the Kurdish force late last year.

The SDF announced “the launching of a large-scale security operation named ‘Operation Retaliation for Raqqa Martyrs’ and the forming of a joint operations room backed by International Coalition airpower, aimed at targeting the terrorist cell and their dangerous operatives,” the US-backed force said in a statement.

A deadly ISIS attack targeted SDF positions in the terror group’s former stronghold of Raqqa, now controlled by the SDF, on December 26, killing at least six fighters of the Kurdish force and injuring many others.

“Immediate results” were achieved after the latest operation commenced, according to the SDF, who added that they quickly began raiding positions in Raqqa and its countryside after the operation was launched on midnight.

ISIS swept through vast swathes of Syrian land in 2014 but it was declared devoid of territorial control after the SDF overran its last bastion in Baghouz in 2019.

The Kurdish-led force temporarily halted anti-ISIS operations late November after Turkey launched a fresh aerial campaign. It has resumed military activities against the terror group, including joint patrols with the global coalition.

“There is no doubt that the elimination of the so-called ISIS capital and its last stronghold by the Syrian Democratic Forces constituted a better opportunity to ensure safety in the Middle East and the world,” the SDF’s statement ended.

Source: rudaw