Kurds in anti-Daesh offensive in Syria

Campaign aims to ‘eliminate’ militants from areas that had been ‘source of terrorist attacks’

After a rise in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Daesh saw its so-called caliphate collapse, but fighters remain. The SDF spearheaded the fight against Daesh in Syria and drove it from its stronghold in 2019.

Syrian Kurdish-led forces said yesterday they had launched an offensive against Daesh group fighters, days after the militants launched a deadly prison attack.

Six Kurdish fighters were killed on Monday when Daesh militants attacked a complex in Raqa, the insurgent group’s former de facto capital in Syria, in a bid to free fellow militants imprisoned there.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the offensive, dubbed Operation Al Jazeera Thunderbolt, aimed to “eliminate” Daesh gunmen from areas that had been “the source of the recent terrorist attacks”.

The SDF said the operation was being carried out alongside the US-backed coalition, although there was no immediate confirmation from the international force that they were taking part.

Recent assaults

The SDF statement said that in addition to the thwarted Raqa attack, Daesh fighters had recently carried out eight assaults in the northern Syrian areas of Deir Ezzor, Hasakeh and the

Al Hol camp for displaced people, which houses family members of Daesh militants.

Referencing recent Turkish air strikes on Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, the SDF said Daesh was trying to “take advantage” of the situation by “carrying out more terrorist attacks”.

After a meteoric rise in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Daesh saw its so-called caliphate collapse, but fighters remain.

Supported by an international anti-jihadist coalition led by the US, the SDF spearheaded the fight against Daesh in Syria and drove the group from its last stronghold in the country in 2019.

SDF vigil

Daesh continues to claim attacks in Iraq and Syria, and the SDF regularly launches operations against the insurgents in Syria.

The group said Monday’s attack on Raqa aimed to avenge “Muslim prisoners” and female relatives of extremists living in Al Hol camp.