SDF Arrests ISIS Commander in Eastern Syria

Members of Kurdish internal security forces stand guard during a security operation inside al-Hol camp which holds displaced people and families of ISIS militants, in Hasaka governorate, in northeast Syria August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
Members of Kurdish internal security forces stand guard during a security operation inside al-Hol camp which holds displaced people and families of ISIS militants, in Hasaka governorate, in northeast Syria August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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SDF Arrests ISIS Commander in Eastern Syria

Members of Kurdish internal security forces stand guard during a security operation inside al-Hol camp which holds displaced people and families of ISIS militants, in Hasaka governorate, in northeast Syria August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
Members of Kurdish internal security forces stand guard during a security operation inside al-Hol camp which holds displaced people and families of ISIS militants, in Hasaka governorate, in northeast Syria August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Syrian Kurdish-led forces captured a local ISIS commander in eastern Syria as part of an ongoing operation targeting sleeper cells in the city of Raqqa, the US-backed forces announced Thursday.

The commander served as the chief of the extremist group’s faction for Raqqa and was among the 68 militants detained in the operation, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.

The operation started earlier this week, in response to a December attack by ISIS that targeted military and security buildings in Raqqa and killed at least six Syrian Kurdish fighters. A Kurdish commander, Mazloum Abdi, said they had indications of “serious preparations" by ISIS for attacks.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS militants also targeted a military intelligence prison holding some 200 militants in the December attack.

The captured ISIS commander was identified as Atallah al-Maythan. Syrian Kurdish forces said he headed the militant group's operations across Raqqa province, and allegedly “confessed to his involvement in planning and leading terrorist acts," extorted money from residents in the area and kept ISIS sleeper cells in contact.

Some 5,000 Syrian Kurdish-led fighters are involved in the operation, and have already raided some 80 locations, their spokesperson, Farhad Shami, told The Associated Press. The US-led coalition was providing air support, reconnaissance, and gathering intelligence, Shami added.

This is the second recent operation by the US-backed forces in Syria. In late December, the Syrian Kurdish-led fighters targeted ISIS cells in al-Hol and Tal Hamis, following a surge in militant attacks.

The US Central Command said that 215 militants from ISIS were arrested last year and 466 were killed in Syria.

There are roughly 900 US troops in Syria.



Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis's support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

These positions became particularly evident in Francis's response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.

"He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times -- for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm," said the patriarch.

He added that by doing so, the pope "became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this".

Out of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the besieged territory.

"Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict," said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff's actions.

"For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy."

The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even as "the local authorities... were not always happy" with the pope's positions or statements, they were "always very respectful", he said.

Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the morning.

As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.

Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.

His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.