The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they have arrested a suspected member of the Islamic State in Hesekê.

According to the SDF press office, the suspect is a man named Hamza Abdul Qader Saleh. The arrest was made on 17 October on the basis of intelligence findings during an operation by the SDF unit for military operations (TOL). During the operation, a weapon and technical equipment (smartphones, cell phones and laptops) as well as personal documents were confiscated.

The SDF accused the man of having been active in the so-called "Zakat" department within ISIS. He is said to have collected donations from civilians under threat of violence. The extorted money was used to finance ISIS cells, including in internment camps for ISIS members in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria. The statement goes on to say that the SDF will continue the fight to dismantle ISIS's financial networks and terrorist cells in order to ensure the security and stability of the region.

ISIS still active

The Islamic State brought large parts of Syria and Iraq under its control in 2014 and proclaimed a "caliphate" there. ISIS suffered its first defeat in the battle for Kobanê, and in January 2015 the liberation of the city on the border with Turkey was announced. After years of liberation offensives, the multi-ethnic military association SDF, whose backbone is the Kurdish women's and people's defense units YPJ and YPG, was able to take over the last ISIS enclave in Syria in spring 2019.

Tens of thousands of people have fallen in the fight against ISIS in Northern and Eastern Syria, and the US-led "Global Coalition" continues to provide logistical and military support. With the destruction of its territorial control, ISIS has changed its military tactics and methods of operation and is increasingly relying on smaller networks and clandestine cells. These underground structures operate primarily in the Syrian-Iraqi border region.