Global Coalition-led Operation Arrests 3 ISIS Leaders in Deir Ezzor

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US troops during a patrol in Hasakeh, Syria. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US troops during a patrol in Hasakeh, Syria. (Reuters)
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Global Coalition-led Operation Arrests 3 ISIS Leaders in Deir Ezzor

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US troops during a patrol in Hasakeh, Syria. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US troops during a patrol in Hasakeh, Syria. (Reuters)

A security operation led by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in the eastern countryside of Syria’s Deir Ezzor, resulted in the arrest of three ISIS commanders, announced a top Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader.

The source said that the detainees are head of Zakat, head of the Finance Diwan and commander of assassinations in Deir Ezzor.

He revealed that the forces raided the homes of the suspects in the town of Diban, and arrested them along with eight others on charges of secretly dealing with active cells affiliated with ISIS.

Official military spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Colonel Wayne Marotto announced that the coalition forces conducted a series of strikes on ISIS camps in a remote area of the Syrian Desert, or Badiya, in the early hours of October 4.

The desert is a known terrorist safe haven with a large concentration of ISIS fighters, said Marotto, adding that ISIS “uses these desolate, war-torn spaces to train fighters and plot their malicious terrorist attacks throughout the region and abroad.”

The spokesman asserted that the coalition and SDF will not stop denying terrorists these safe havens, saying it "remains the most effective force against ISIS in Syria."

Meanwhile, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, announced it will allow thousands of Syrians, including families of ISIS fighters, in al-Hol camp to leave for their areas.

The co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), Riad Derar said that Syrians will leave al-Hol and only foreigners will remain.

Syrian relatives of the extremist group fighters “will be released with guarantees from their families”, Derar was quoted by AFP.

The official did not provide a date for the release and said the decision does not include Syrian extremists held by the SDF.



UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.