Mazloum Abdi, the chief commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday that the Islamic States (ISIS) attacks, coincided with Turkish threats which target the security and stability of north and east Syria.
“Information received from Raqqa indicates dangerous preparations by ISIS cells. We must not tolerate it,” Abdi said on Twitter.
The commander added that they are closely following the movements of ISIS terrorist cells in Raqqa, the jihadists’ former de facto capital, and that on Monday morning the jihadist fighters targeted security and military buildings in the city, killing six fighters and wounding others.
According to Abdi, such attacks are concurrent with the continuous Turkish threats to target the security and stability of the region.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ISIS cells have dramatically increased their activity in SDF-controlled areas since the beginning of December. The war monitor said that on the 26th December it had documented 16 ISIS operations and attacks, which left in total 11 people dead.
The observatory also shared footage of Monday’s attack that targeted security headquarters near a military intelligence prison that houses hundreds of jihadist fighters.
Following the attack, the Interior Committee of the Raqqa Civil Council decided to impose a total curfew in the city, starting today and continuing until further notice.
Farhad Shami, spokesman for the SDF said they have “declared a state of alert”, the Agence France Press (AFP) reported. ”We have information about potential ISIS attacks during end-of-year holidays”, he said, listing the northern Syrian cities of Raqqa, Hasakeh and Qamishli as potential targets.