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Kurdish forces in Syria announced today that they detained nearly 100 jihadists in a week-long operation against Islamic State (IS) cells after a deadly attack in the northern part of the country, BTA reports.
Six Kurdish fighters and one jihadist were killed on December 26 during a failed attack on the headquarters of the Kurdish forces in Raqqa, which was intended to free jihadists held in a local prison.
IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF - a Kurdish-dominated alliance of armed fighters) subsequently declared an alert in areas under their control in northern Syria and launched an operation to "pursue IS cells".
The SDF announced today that they had cleared 55 villages and closed "large parts of the Syrian-Iraqi border".
During the operation, "154 wanted terrorists and criminals", including 102 IS members, were arrested and attacks the group planned to carry out against the cities of Qamishli and Hasakah during the New Year holidays were foiled, the communique said.
According to the SDF, the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition took part in the operation - something it has so far not confirmed.
Syria
Kurds
jihadists