Kurdish forces, on high alert, are on the lookout for jihadists in northern Syria on Tuesday amid fears of fresh attacks in the aftermath of a failed assault by the Islamic State group, a Kurdish official told AFP .
Six members of the Kurdish security forces and a jihadist were killed Monday in an attack claimed by IS against the headquarters of the Kurdish forces in Raqqa, which targeted a prison where jihadists are detained.
Following this attack, the Kurdish autonomous administration declared a state of emergency in Raqqa, the former “capital” of IS in Syria, and proclaimed a curfew in the city.
“The campaign to comb and pursue potential cells of Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS, editor’s note) continues, and the curfew remains in place until further notice,” the door-keeper told AFP. speech of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by the Kurds), Farhad Chami.
“We have information about potential Daesh attacks during the end of the year holidays in Raqqa, Hassaké and Qamishli”, all under Kurdish control, he added, specifying that the Kurdish forces were “in a state of readiness. ‘alert”.
Raqqa was the former “capital” of ISIS in Syria, which had established a regime of terror there, imposing strict application of Islamic law and indulging in numerous abuses.
Interviewed by telephone by AFP, residents of the city said that Tuesday’s attack had revived painful memories of the reign of the jihadists.
“We cannot forget what Daesh has done in the past, they want to bring us back to the situation of fear and panic,” said the manager of a supermarket in Raqqa, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals .
Osama al-Khalaf, an activist from the city, said that since Monday’s attack, residents of Raqqa “live in fear of a return of IS through its sleeper cells”.
“Most of the inhabitants live in terror of a renewal of such attacks,” he added.
After a meteoric rise in power in 2014 and the conquest of vast territories in Iraq and Syria, the IS was defeated under the blow of successive offensives, in 2017 in Iraq and in 2019 in Syria.
But despite the loss of its strongholds in these two countries, the group continues to claim attacks there through sleeper cells.
IS said Monday’s attack was aimed at “revenging” jihadists detained by Kurdish forces, including women in the Al-Hol camp in northern Syria.
