In a coordinated night raid, international coalition forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested three suspected members of the Islamic State (ISIS) during an airborne operation in northern Raqqa, security officials confirmed.

The operation, carried out just after midnight, targeted a location believed to be sheltering ISIS operatives. Heavy aerial surveillance was deployed, with the area fully encircled to prevent escapes or resistance.

A coalition statement said the raid was part of a renewed campaign to dismantle ISIS sleeper cells, which remain a major threat in territories controlled by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).

This operation follows another joint mission earlier this week in Deir ez-Zor’s Jebel al-Bishri, where coalition and Free Syrian Army forces conducted an airborne strike, reportedly killing several senior ISIS leaders. Their identities remain unconfirmed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the Deir ez-Zor raid followed over a week of surveillance, with intelligence indicating high-ranking ISIS members were gathering in the area. Documents seized during the operation allegedly contain strategic details about ISIS movements and planned operations in the Syrian desert.

The raids come amid a surge in ISIS attacks across DAANES-held regions. On June 1, three members of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) were killed when their patrol vehicle hit an ISIS-planted landmine on the Raqqa-Hasaka highway. One officer was wounded.

Asayish officials linked the attack to a broader escalation in ISIS assaults on civilian and security infrastructure, particularly near al-Hol, rural Raqqa, and Hasaka.

Since January 2025, SOHR has recorded 104 ISIS attacks in DAANES areas, including ambushes, assassinations, and bombings, resulting in 40 deaths—27 SDF-affiliated personnel, 8 ISIS militants, and 5 civilians. In Raqqa alone, seven attacks this year have killed five security personnel and wounded eight others.

ISIS has also extended operations beyond northeast Syria (Western Kurdistan). On May 30, the group claimed its first direct attack on Syria’s transitional government, which took power after Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024.

The assault in Suwayda province involved an IED targeting a Syrian Army patrol from the 70th Division, killing one soldier and injuring three. Both SITE Intelligence Group and SOHR confirmed ISIS’s responsibility, signaling a dangerous shift in the group’s strategy.

Despite losing its territorial caliphate in 2019, ISIS maintains a decentralized but potent insurgency. Kurdish officials and security experts warn that sustained international support is crucial to prevent the group’s resurgence.