Uncovered dangerous ISIS terrorist cell in Syria’s Raqqa

Security forces in the northern city of Raqqa uncovered on Sunday a sleeper ISIS terrorist cell that was plotting a series of attacks in the area.

Raqqa served as the de facto capital of ISIS so-called “caliphate” until it was retaken by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militia alliance last October.

A spokesman for the Raqqa Internal Security Forces set up by the SDF said it had killed two members of an ISIS cell and detained five others during an operation on Saturday.

“Special forces and explosives experts carried out a counter operation .. to confront plans which were about to be executed by a terrorist cell affiliated with mercenaries of ISIS in a neighborhood in Raqqa city,”the unit’s spokesman Mohannad Ibrahim said at a news conference.

The forces raided two residential apartments where the cell members were hiding and confiscated grenades, pistols and explosives, the spokesman said.

They also found a car bomb at the site of the operation and unearthed a large cache of arms and land mines buried nearby.

The city has witnessed lately a wave of road side bombings targeting mainly SDF officials and fighters.

In June, SDF imposed a three-day curfew in Raqqa and declared a state of emergency saying Islamic State militants had infiltrated the city and planned a bombing campaign.

Source: Aawsat