According to the press office of People’s Defense Units (YPG), a cell of the Islamist terrorist organization ISIS was rooted out in the Deir ez-Zor region of eastern Syria on Thursday. The statement released today said:

"Although ISIS is territorially defeated in the region, it continues its organizing and terrorist activities. It is active to destroy the security of the region. Our forces continue to conduct operations against these activities and deal significant blows to reorganization attempts. In this context, our counterterrorism force conducted an operation against an ISIS cell in Deir ez-Zor on January 28. Four ISIS jihadists were arrested during the operation. In addition, weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized."

The seized items include 47 mortars and 43 grenade heads, an AK-47 along with ammunition, a revolver, a hunting rifle and TNT.

ISIS remains very active in Syria and Iraq. In the summer of 2014, the terrorist organization overran large parts of Iraq and Syria and brought them under its control. Across state borders, its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in October 2019, proclaimed a caliphate - with himself at its head. Countless people were murdered in bestial ways, with some 10,000 falling victim to the genocide in the Yazidi settlement area of Shengal (Sinjar) alone. Iraq prematurely declared victory over ISIS at the end of 2017, and in neighboring Syria the militia's territorial rule was ended in spring 2019.

Even though thousands of ISIS jihadists have been arrested since then, underground structures formed in Iraq and Syria. In regions such as Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hama in Syria and Kirkuk, Baghdad, and Anbar in Iraq, these networks continue to carry out attacks. The frequency and quality of these attacks has increased significantly in recent weeks.

Two female politicians beheaded by ISIS in northeastern Syria

ISIS has most recently claimed to have carried out the twin suicide attacks in Baghdad a week ago, killing at least 32 people. Iraqi security forces also blame ISIS for the deadly attack on members of the "Popular Mobilization Units" (Hashd al-Shaabi) in the city of Tikrit over the weekend.

The terrorist militia also claimed responsibility for the murder of two local women politicians near Al-Dashisha in northeastern Syria. The victims were Sada al-Harmoush, co-chairwoman of the Til Shair Town Civil Council, and her deputy Hind al-Khedr, who was also in charge of the economy committee. The two women had been abducted by heavily armed men on January 22. Their decapitated bodies were found hours later by the roadside.