ALEPPO, Syria — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been cracking down on civilians accused of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) even as the SDF has been releasing IS prisoners. The apparent contradiction seems motivated by money, engendering goodwill with local tribal leaders and justifying the SDF's continuing control of certain regions.

The SDF, a Kurdish-Arab alliance that helped the US-led coalition in the war on IS, denies the releases are improper.

SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told the Firat News Agency in a Jan. 17 story, “The [Kurdish] Autonomous Administration acts in line with [laws concerning] Syrian criminals. Each criminal is put on trial and those having served their sentence are released from custody. Local courts serve as the decision-making mechanism in this regard."

On Jan. 29 and 30, the SDF arrested eight people, including four teenagers and a woman, on charges of being affiliated with IS. The arrests took place in eastern Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces. Some of those arrested allegedly distributed leaflets threatening prominent SDF leaders.