In northeast Syria, the fight against ISIS continues on a daily basis, with at least nine SDF members killed in combat with ISIS terrorists in Deir-ez-Zor in the past two weeks.
Last Saturday, the SDF stated that four troops were killed in clashes in the town of Abriha, with one ISIS member being killed in the fighting as well. The prior Thursday, September 25, five more SDF members had been killed in al-Bahrah town.
The clashes came after two major operations, carried out jointly by the SDF and US-Led Coalition to Defeat ISIS, led to the capture of Abu Abdo, an ISIS operative in Raqqa, and to the death of Omar Abdul-Qader, an ISIS head of foreign operations, in central Syria.
ISIS continues to demonstrate its ability to organize effective attacks in Syria, and its intentions to regroup and reestablish itself as a major force in the region and internationally, despite years of defeats inflicted on the organization by the SDF and US-led Coalition. Since December, ISIS has carried out at least 153 attacks in northeast Syria, according to the SDF, which itself has conducted dozens of operations against the terrorist group.
The continuing instability and uncertainty inside Syria fuels ISIS recruitment efforts, further demonstrating the necessity of avoiding the resumption of large-scale hostilities between the major players in the country, and the importance of reaching a political solution.