Shafaq News – Deir ez-Zor

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) foiled on Wednesday an ISIS plot and detained three suspected militants in eastern Deir ez-Zor after a surveillance operation in the town of al-Takihi.

According to the SDF Media Center, the suspects were planning attacks aimed at destabilizing the area. Weapons and documents linking them to ISIS were seized during the raid.

In 2025, ISIS stepped up operations in areas controlled by SDF in eastern Syria, carrying out ambushes, roadside bombings, and assassinations on the outskirts of towns once considered secure. Despite the group’s territorial defeat, it has exploited gaps in local security and the vast desert terrain to sustain a low-level insurgency.

Earlier, fighters from the SDF-affiliated Hajin Military Council captured an ISIS cell commander in the town of Darnaj after a firefight that left the suspect wounded, one SDF fighter dead, and two others injured.

ISIS militants also attempted to storm a security checkpoint in Abriha using motorcycles and machine guns, but SDF forces said they repelled the attack, injured one militant, forced the rest to retreat, and launched a follow-up sweep to secure the area.

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