Local sources announced to a local reporter that militants of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) invaded, with numerous four-wheel-drive vehicles fortified with machine guns, the town of al-Hawaij in Deir ez-Zor’s eastern suburbs and kidnapped five civilians, later taking them to an unidentified destination.
The informants held that the foray was carried out with the backing of US helicopters which flew at a low elevation over settlements causing panic, particularly among children.
Over the past days, the SDF has intensified raid operations over areas which it captured in Syria’s Al-Jazeera region, and it has kidnapped many civilians in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasakah with the aim to pull them to fight among its ranks.
The SDF also contains YPG/PKK elements recognized by the US, EU, Turkey, and others as a terrorist organization.
