Deir Ezzor: civilian tortured to death by US-led forces

(Zaman Al Wasl)- One civilian tortured to death by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused of collaborating with Daesh (ISIS) in Deir Ezzor province, local activists said Tuesday.

The man was endured to electric shock and brutal torture along with one of the Islamic State fighters in the town of al-Basria.

Also, five family members (Father, mother and three sons) were killed in a land mine explosion in al-Basria town.

The SDF on Saturday proclaimed the capture of Baghouz, Islamic State's last territory in Deir Ezzor province, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed "caliphate", but the jihadists remain a threat, with followers around the world.

Meanwhile, ISIS said on Tuesday it had launched a deadly attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria overnight, the first such claim by the group since U.S.-backed forces proclaimed the capture of its last territory in Syria last week.

A spokesman for the U.S.-backed militia that controls Manbij said a terrorist attack on a checkpoint at the city's entrance killed seven fighters on duty. A U.S. official said all the casualties were among members of the (SDF).

Islamic State said in a statement that "caliphate soldiers attacked a checkpoint of the apostate PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party)" west of Manbij using machine guns and killed nine fighters.

Some 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, Manbij has been a flashpoint in the Syrian conflict and occupies a critical spot, near the junction of three separate blocks of territory that form the spheres of Russian, Turkish and U.S. influence.

It was seized in 2016 from Islamic State by Syrian militia allied to the SDF, a militia force spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG and which controls roughly a quarter of Syria.

"We cannot blame a specific side for this attack, but it is definitely linked to the proclamation of victory over Daesh," Manbij Military Council spokesman Sharfan Darwish said.

"The purpose of these attacks is to incite sedition. Also the parties troubled by the defeat of Daesh are trying to threaten stability in the area," he told Reuters.

Zaman Al Wasl , Reuters

Zaman Al Wasl