Kurdish and coalition forces target Islamic State in eastern Syria
The operation comes at a time of recent IS attacks in Syria and Iraq.
Kurdish-led and international coalition forces raided Islamic State (IS) positions yesterday in eastern Syria — a site of recent IS activity.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out an operation in Deir ez-Zor on Wednesday night. They were supported by Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the official name of the US-led international coalition against IS in Syria and Iraq. The raid led to the arrest of an IS fighter, the coalition spokesman Col. Myles Caggins said on Twitter today.
The coalition supports the multiethnic SDF, which is led by the Kurdish group the People’s Protection Units (YPG), but also includes Arab and Syriac Christian divisions. The SDF said the arrested IS fighter was being questioned. The operation took place in a rural area in the east of Deir ez-Zor province, the SDF said on Twitter.
Deir Ezzor 24, a local media outlet covering the province, said the raid by the SDF and the coalition took place late Wednesday evening in the village of Azzir. The coalition used helicopters and soldiers stormed a house; two IS members blew themselves up to avoid arrest and an Iraqi IS fighter was arrested, the outlet reported, citing an unnamed correspondent.
