SDF arrests architect of ISIS attacks in areas under its control
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The arrested member, appointed as the emir of the Deir Ezzor and Hasakah governorates, confessed that he planned ISIS attacks targeting Nowruz celebrations in Syria.
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Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militants patrol the area during a demonstration to demand the release of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025 (AP)
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Thursday that they captured a leader of the ISIS terrorist organization in a security operation conducted with the support of International Coalition forces.
The SDF said the operation took place in the city of Tabqa, in the western countryside of the Raqqa province, on Wednesday, following intelligence gathered on the movements of ISIS militant Ra'fat Harmon, known by the aliases of "Abu Suhaib al-Adnani" and "Abu Hussein al-Qurashi."
The militant arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was ISIS’ military commander for the al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor areas of operation, known within the group as "Wilayat al-Khair and al-Baraka." He was the key architect behind terrorist attacks targeting SDF-controlled areas and had direct ties to senior leaders within the organization.
Harmon confessed that he received directives from ISIS leadership and relayed these orders to members of the terrorist cells under his control, aiming to conduct terrorist attacks during the Nowruz celebrations of this year. The captured ISIS leader also exposed different cells connected to him that operate in the Upper Mesopotamia regions and Damascus.
During initial interrogations, the militant claimed that he traveled to Lebanon in 2006 and remained there until 2009 for work before returning to Syria, where he became involved with terrorist groups, eventually admitting to joining ISIS in Idlib in 2014 and later operating in the city of Hama and its surrounding countryside.
In 2018, he moved to Turkey, where he met with senior ISIS leaders and worked alongside them, remaining there until 2020 before returning to Syria and eventually settling in the city of Tabqa in 2022, where he continued rising through the ranks of the organization.
At first, he was appointed as deputy to the so-called governor of "Wilayat al-Khair and al-Baraka" before later being appointed its military commander, taking charge of terrorist cells and orchestrating attacks across northern and eastern Syria.
