The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the results of its operations against the Islamic State group in its controlled areas in northeastern Syria, coinciding with the increase in the group’s activities in the same region during the first six months of the current year.
The SDF stated on its official website today, Thursday, July 4, that it carried out 28 operations against the group in its controlled areas, including six operations that thwarted attempts to carry out “terrorist operations,” three of which were large-scale operations.
It added that the number of operations conducted by the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the Counter-Terrorism Units (YAT), the Commando Forces, and its Military Operations Teams reached nine operations.
According to the statistics, the number of IS elements captured amounted to 233 elements, suspects, and collaborators, including 85 elements arrested during the “Humanity and Security” operation, 82 others in a large-scale operation in Raqqa, and 40 in the outskirts of al-Hasakah.
The SDF indicated that some of the group’s elements were captured with the help of local residents while attempting to carry out operations.
The number of IS members killed during these operations reached ten, six of whom were killed while carrying out failed operations targeting the SDF security forces, according to the statistics.
The SDF’s announcement of its operational statistics against the group in Syria came days after the Islamic State announced statistics of its attacks in areas where its cells are spread worldwide, including Syria.
The group stated on July 1 that it carried out 156 operations in Syria, resulting in 393 deaths and injuries, without specifying the distribution of these attacks within Syria.
In the past two months, the group has adopted a different attack mechanism from its other operations since its control receded in Syria in March 2019, returning to the use of car bombs, which it had reduced reliance on since its control receded in the desert.
This marked a shift in its strategy in the region, as it had long relied on ambushes, assassinations, and scattered attacks targeting SDF fighters and Autonomous Administration employees (the political umbrella of the SDF).
At the end of last April, the group’s official spokesperson, Abu Hudhaifa al-Ansari, called on its groups spread in Syria to intensify their attacks against the SDF.
The call came in response to repeated arrest campaigns launched by the SDF in al-Hol camp, which houses families of the Islamic State group’s fighters.
The SDF launched successive security campaigns after an increase in the group’s activities early this year, which was reflected on the ground by a decrease in the group’s attacks.
On June 21, the group announced through its weekly newspaper “al-Naba” that it carried out one operation in Deir Ezzor province, resulting in three deaths and injuries, while the total number of its operations in Syria during the first week of last January reached 34 operations, and 32 in the following week.