On June 21, two vehicles of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were hit with an IED, which had been planted by fighters of ISIS in the village of Hammam al-Turkmen in the northern Raqqa countryside, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq. The terrorist organization claimed that SDF fighters who were aboard the two vehicles were injured and killed.
The Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) confirmed that an IED exploded in Hammam al-Turkmen. However, the news agency claimed that the IED hit a civilian car injuring one civilian. From its side, the SDF is yet to comment on the incident.
Click to see full-size image, By ANHA
This was the first attack of ISIS cells in the governorate of Raqqa since October of 2017, when the governorate was supposedly secured by the US-led coalition and the SDF.
ISIS cells will likely carry out more attacks in Raqqa in the near future, if the SDF and the US-led coalition fail to impose much needed security measures there and in other Arab areas. Local observers also argue that the Kurdish-dominated force will also have to improve it policies regarding Arabs in order to prevent ISIS from recruiting locals.
