SDF Units Arrest ISIS Leader, Kill Another in Syria's Deir Ezzor

Women at the al-Hol camp in Syria's Hasakeh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Women at the al-Hol camp in Syria's Hasakeh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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SDF Units Arrest ISIS Leader, Kill Another in Syria's Deir Ezzor

Women at the al-Hol camp in Syria's Hasakeh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Women at the al-Hol camp in Syria's Hasakeh. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the killing of a prominent ISIS leader responsible for terror plots and operations in the eastern countryside of Syria’s east governorate of Deir Ezzor.

Another significant terror leader was arrested. They were responsible for transferring explosives and ammunition to active members of the terror organization in Deir Ezzor.

This comes at a time the US-led International Coalition carried out an airdrop operation west of Deir Ezzor in search of wanted persons, with the participation of three US helicopters and SDF forces.

“SDF units killed Abu Hamza Shamiyah, the chief leader responsible for plotting attacks in the area,” Farhad Shami, the director of the SDF media center, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Abu Hamza Shamiyah was the architect of multiple assaults against SDF positions, local tribes, and civilians.

He was one of the most wanted fugitives in Deir Ezzor after staging a terror assault that targeted SDF units on February 10.

The terror hit resulted in the death of five SDF fighters, according to Shami.

“We arrested Shukri Kamal Khalil, in the village of Zghair in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor,” Shami added, noting that the detained terrorist was a leader of multiple sleeper cells.

SDF units seized large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and narcotics in Khalil’s possession.

On February 13, SDF units arrested an ISIS officer behind a terror funding ring that was supporting the group’s activity in Syria.



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.