The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Friday a fresh campaign to hunt down ISIS remnants near the Iraqi border.
The Kurdish-led alliance that has spearheaded the ground fight against ISIS in Syria since 2015, said that the new campaign is being carried out in coordination with the Iraqi army and the US-led coalition.
"This campaign will target ISIS hideouts and hotbeds," it said.
It said operations will focus on the vast east Syria desert near the border with Iraq where ISIS has conducted a spate of attacks in recent months.
Since the loss of its last territory in Syria in March 2019, the terrorist group’s attacks have been restricted to the vast desert that stretches from the heavily populated Orontes valley in the west all the way to Iraqi border.
Last month, the United Nations accused ISIS and others in Syria of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to step up violence on civilians, describing the situation as a "ticking time-bomb."
Across the border in Iraq, ISIS has exploited a coronavirus lockdown, coalition troop withdrawals and simmering political disputes to ramp up attacks.
Iraq declared ISIS defeated in late 2017 but sleeper cells have survived in remote northern and western areas, where security gaps mean the group wages occasional attacks.
They have spiked since early April as militants plant explosives, shoot up police patrols and launch mortar and rocket fire at villages.
