Syrian Kurds Say They Have Stopped Operations against ISIS 

A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
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Syrian Kurds Say They Have Stopped Operations against ISIS 

A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. (Reuters)
A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. (Reuters)

The commander of the main US-backed Kurdish-led force in Syria said Saturday they have halted operations against the ISIS group due to Turkish attacks on northern Syria over the past week. 

Mazloum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces told reporters that after nearly a week of Turkish airstrikes on northern Syria, Ankara is now preparing for a ground offensive. He said Türkiye-backed opposition fighters are getting ready to take part in the operations. 

Abdi added that Turkish strikes over the past week have caused severe damage to the region’s infrastructure. 

Abdi said Türkiye is taking advantage of the deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on Kurdish groups. Kurdish organizations have denied any involvement in the Istanbul attack that killed six and wounded dozens. 

Over the past week, Türkiye launched a wave of airstrikes on suspected Kurdish rebels hiding in neighboring Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the Istanbul attack. 

“The forces that work symbolically with the international coalition in the fight against ISIS are now targets for the Turkish state and therefore (military) operations have stopped,” Abdi said. “Anti-ISIS operations have stopped.” 

His comments came hours after the US military said two rockets targeted US-led coalition forces at bases in the northeastern Syrian town of Shaddadeh resulting in no “injuries or damage to the base or coalition property.” 

The US military statement said SDF fighters visited the site of the rocket's origin and found a third unfired rocket. 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, in an early report about the Friday night rocket attack said “the area has been witnessing attacks by (ISIS) cells.” It later said that Iran-backed militias “are responsible for yesterday’s rocket fire.” 

“Attacks of this kind place coalition forces and the civilian populace at risk and undermine the hard-earned stability and security of Syria and the region,” said Col. Joe Buccino, CENTCOM spokesman. 

The SDF said in a statement before midnight Friday that as Turkish drones flew over the al-Hol camp that is home to tens of thousands of mostly wives, widows and children of ISIS fighters, some ISIS family members attacked security forces and managed to escape from the sprawling facility. The SDF did not say how many escaped but that they were later detained. 

Kurdish authorities operate more than two dozen detention facilities scattered across northeastern Syria holding about 10,000 ISIS fighters. Among the detainees are some 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them, including about 800 Europeans. 



Yemeni Forces Raid Migrant Smuggling Sites

Authorities raid smuggling hubs after the death of 92 illegal migrants. (Government media)
Authorities raid smuggling hubs after the death of 92 illegal migrants. (Government media)
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Yemeni Forces Raid Migrant Smuggling Sites

Authorities raid smuggling hubs after the death of 92 illegal migrants. (Government media)
Authorities raid smuggling hubs after the death of 92 illegal migrants. (Government media)

Dozens of African migrants escaped death off Yemen’s southern coast when their boat broke down at sea, as government forces raided smuggling sites in Abyan province a day after another shipwreck killed 92 people.

Government sources said Yemeni fishermen rescued 250 migrants from the Horn of Africa, nearly half of them women and most of them Ethiopian, after their vessel was stranded for several days in the Gulf of Aden without food or water. Seven people died before the survivors reached Shabwa province, east of Aden.

Authorities provided first aid to the migrants on arrival in Rudum district, which has become a key landing point after tighter patrols along the western Lahj coast, said the sources.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the group endured a week-long voyage from Somalia after their boat’s engine failed 100 nautical miles from shore. The trip, meant to last 24 hours, stretched to seven days, relying on wind and paddling.

“These people went through a week of hell at sea, facing exploitation, fear and trauma,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM’s head of mission in Yemen. He urged greater humanitarian action to save lives, step up search and rescue, tackle the drivers of irregular migration and protect vulnerable travelers.

The rescue came as Abyan’s security forces said they raided several coastal sites used by smugglers to shelter incoming migrants, following last week’s disaster off the province’s coast in which 92 people drowned and 23 were saved from a boat carrying about 200 passengers. The rest remain missing.

The operation targeted areas in Shaqra port, including Tamhan, al-Kasara and al-Hajla, as well as a site on Ahwar’s coast, under the supervision of provincial police chief Ali Nasser Bouzeid. He called for regional and international coordination to curb what he described as a security and humanitarian threat.

Bouzeid warned against aiding smugglers, saying several armed men had already been arrested for protecting migrant compounds.

In the Lawdar district, security forces said they detained a “dangerous gang” involved in smuggling African migrants after a firefight in which the suspects threw grenades at police before being captured. Three vehicles were seized, and the detainees will face legal action, the statement added.

The IOM said the latest shipwreck highlights the urgent need to address the dangers along the eastern migration route linking the Horn of Africa to Yemen. It called for prioritizing life-saving aid, expanding safe migration channels and improving coordinated search and rescue.

The agency praised Abyan authorities’ quick response and pledged to support joint efforts to identify survivors, recover bodies and assist affected families.

More than 350 migrants have died or gone missing along the eastern route since the start of the year, the IOM said, warning the real toll is likely far higher.

Every life lost is a stark reminder of the human cost of irregular migration, the agency said, renewing calls for stronger protection systems, effective rescue operations and accountability for smugglers and traffickers.