ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday said they "dismantled" an Islamic State (ISIS) cell, in a "precise" security operation in coordination with international coalition forces in Raqqa province, capturing five militants.
"As part of our ongoing national mission to protect the regions of North and East Syria from the threat of terrorism, our military operations teams (TOL) and Commando Forces, with direct support from the International Coalition, carried out a precise and high-level operation at dawn today targeting a hideout of an ISIS terrorist cell in the town of Tal al-Saman, north of Raqqa," the SDF said in a statement.
The SDF said the operation resulted in the capture of "five ISIS terrorists, including three senior leaders involved in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks against our military points and institutions of the Autonomous Administration."
It detailed that these individuals were "actively working to spread chaos and destabilize the region."
The coordinated operation "followed extensive intelligence monitoring of the cell’s movements, communications, and preparations to launch new attacks against our forces and civil institutions."
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, but the group has sought to regain ground by taking advantage of the instability that followed the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.
The SDF has carried out several recent operations against the jihadists in Raqqa, the city ISIS had named as the capital of its so-called caliphate.
In October, the Kurdish-led force said they captured a “dangerous” ISIS commander in Raqqa province, reportedly responsible for overseeing the distribution of weapons and coordinating activity among the group’s sleeper cells.
In mid-September, the SDF said it had detained another ISIS operative in Raqqa, allegedly involved in manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using TNT. The force seized 180 blocks of explosives and related materials.
Updated at 02:16pm with a new statement from the SDF