7 Fighters from Kurdish-led Force Killed in Syria ISIS Attacks

Kurdish-led fighters deploy around Ghwayran prison after its recapture from ISIS militant group in six days of deadly fighting in northeastern Syria's largest city, Hasakeh - AFP
Kurdish-led fighters deploy around Ghwayran prison after its recapture from ISIS militant group in six days of deadly fighting in northeastern Syria's largest city, Hasakeh - AFP
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7 Fighters from Kurdish-led Force Killed in Syria ISIS Attacks

Kurdish-led fighters deploy around Ghwayran prison after its recapture from ISIS militant group in six days of deadly fighting in northeastern Syria's largest city, Hasakeh - AFP
Kurdish-led fighters deploy around Ghwayran prison after its recapture from ISIS militant group in six days of deadly fighting in northeastern Syria's largest city, Hasakeh - AFP

At least seven fighters from a Kurdish-led force were killed Sunday in two ISIS group attacks in eastern Syria, a war monitor said.

"Six fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed" in an ISIS attack along the road linking Deir Ezzor province with Hasakeh, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human rights.

A seventh was shot dead by ISIS-linked gunmen in the west of Deir Ezzor province, the Observatory said.

The attacks were carried out in areas under the control of the SDF, which is a key US partner in fighting ISIS and is the Syrian Kurds' de facto army, AFP said.

ISIS seized swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, declaring a "caliphate" to administer the millions-strong population.

A long and bloody fightback by Syrian and Iraqi forces with backing from the US and other powers led to its eventual defeat in March 2019, but sleeper cells of the extremist group still carry out attacks in both countries.

On Thursday, the SDF said two of their fighters were killed and six ISIS fighters arrested following clashes in a volatile Syria camp where a security operation was underway.

Syria's war began in 2011 and has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.



France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
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France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)

France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. That's when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

Tensions further peaked in November after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison — a verdict he subsequently appealed.

In addition to what French officials called the "symmetrically" calibrated expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, France's ambassador to Algiers also was being recalled home for consultations, a statement from the French presidential palace said Tuesday.

It said Algerian authorities were responsible for "a brutal deterioration in our bilateral relations."

French counterterrorism prosecutors said three Algerian nationals in total were arrested last week and handed preliminary charges of "kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking."

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

The latest surge in acrimony followed a brief easing of tensions about two weeks ago when French President Emmanuel Macron called Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they had agreed to revive bilateral relations.