Six killed in ISIS attack on US-backed Kurdish security centre in Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces said they killed one ISIS fighter and detained another who was wearing a suicide belt

A boy outside a tent at the Yunani camp for displaced Syrians, in the northern province of Raqqa. All photos by AFP

A woman at the Yunani camp. Many inhabitants are from rural areas of Raqqa and Hama provinces and were displaced by fighting in Syria's civil war.

A girl carrying a young child at Yunani camp.

A child stands in front of tents at the camp. It lies in the village of Kasra Faraj in the southern countryside of Raqqa.

A girl holds a tent rope at Yunani camp. Inhabitants have said they lack of basic necessities there.

In 2021, there were more than 250 families living in Yunani camp.

A child outside a tent at Yunani camp. Dozens of makeshift camps for displaced people are spread across Raqqa province.

A child sits outside a tent at Yunani camp.

A Yunani camp resident walks between tents. Inhabitants have complained about insufficient bread rations.

An aerial view of Yunani camp.

A woman prepares beans at Yunani camp, as a child sleeps nearby.

A child stands outside a tent at Yunani camp.

A woman and child outside a tent in Yunani camp for displaced people, in Syria's northern province of Raqqa.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said four Internal Security Forces fighters and two SDF members were killed during an ISIS attack on one of their centres on Monday morning.

One ISIS fighter was killed and another who was wearing a suicide belt was arrested while fleeing, said SDF spokesman Farhad Shami.

“Others managed to flee to the adjoining neighbourhoods,” he said.

The SDF said it imposed a curfew across Al Raqqa, where the incident took place, in anticipation of further ISIS attacks and until it finds the perpetrators.

“Following the attack, our forces imposed a complete curfew, launched a large-scale sweep operation in the city to foil the dangerous and continuous terrorist attack.”

Syria's northern city of Al Raqqa was the last ISIS stronghold until 2017, when the group was territorially defeated by the SDF.

On Monday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented 16 ISIS attacks against the SDF since the beginning of the month.

“These attacks left 11 people, including nine SDF members, dead and nine civilians and combatants injured,” the observatory said. It is not known whether the tally included Monday's ISIS attack.

The US trains the SDF and provides them with intelligence in their fight against ISIS

Last month, the SDF temporary halted anti-ISIS operations while anticipating a ground offensive by Turkey following an announcement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that his forces will be targeting Kurdish militants.

Turkey said Mr Erdogan's decision was in response to an attack on a crowded tourist spot in Istanbul that killed six people in November. Ankara blamed armed Kurdish militants for the attack, but the SDF denied responsibility for it and called for an international investigation to be conducted into the incident.