It is the Kurdish-dominated SDF alliance (Syrian Democratic Forces) which, according to its own statement, carried out an eight-day long operation against the jihadist organization IS in eastern and northern Syria.
According to a statement from the SDF, 154 people, of which 102 are suspected IS members, have been arrested.
The operation began last week and follows a failed liberation attempt against a prison for IS fighters in Raqqa over the Christmas holiday.
Several SDF soldiers were killed in the attack on the prison, where hundreds of jihadists are being held.
The Kurdish forces in Syria are making an effort to show their importance as the West’s partner in the fight against IS. This at the same time as NATO country Turkey continues its threats of new attacks against Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria.
IS is today a fragment of the “caliphate” that was declared in 2014 over parts of Syria and Iraq. However, the organization is still capable of carrying out lethal attacks.
As recently as the day before New Year’s Eve, twelve oil workers and a Kurdish soldier were killed in a terrorist attack in eastern Syria attributed to IS.