In a statement on Thursday, August 14, the Deir Ezzor Military Council said an alleged ISIS-affiliated cell abducted a group of four council members while they were on a non-military errand at a pharmacy in the town of al-Hawayij, east of Deir Ezzor. The council said it mounted a “precise” operation that killed one abductor and wounded three others, and launched an “immediate and comprehensive” investigation into the incident. The Islamic State has not claimed any operations in Deir Ezzor.
Local developments quickly escalated. An Enab Baladi correspondent reported that the SDF withdrew from the nearby town of Gharanij late on Wednesday, August 13, after clashes with residents. The confrontations followed the kidnapping of four SDF members by unidentified gunmen, which prompted the SDF to raid the town. SDF units also besieged homes of the al-Hayis and al-Muhidi families in Gharanij—finding only women and children inside—and carried out sweeping raids in al-Jay’ah and al-Jeneina, bringing reinforcements into al-Jeneina west of Deir Ezzor.
The flare-up coincided with heavy cross-river clashes early Thursday between Syrian Ministry of Defense forces and the SDF. A ministry source, speaking to Enab Baladi on condition of anonymity, said the firefight across the Euphrates began after shots were fired from SDF-held areas toward government positions, drawing return fire. Fighting—using machine guns and RPGs—was reported between al-Bughayliyah (government-held) and al-Jeneina (SDF-held), with explosions heard inside Deir Ezzor city and a fisherman injured near the UN headquarters by the Badiyat al-Sham hotel, according to the correspondent. Additional exchanges were reported between government troops in al-Duweir and SDF fighters in Gharanij. At that time, neither side had issued a public statement about the clashes.
By Saturday, August 16, according to the Hawar News, the SDF said it had concluded a broad security sweep in Gharanij aimed at what it called resurgent ISIS “cells.” In a statement on its official website, the SDF said units from the Deir Ezzor Military Council, alongside the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and with support from local tribes and residents, thoroughly combed the town, arresting 12 wanted individuals and suspects accused of belonging to ISIS cells. The statement said the detainees had been planning attacks on security forces, civilians, and public services to sow chaos and destabilize the area. The SDF also said its forces freed the four abducted Deir Ezzor Military Council fighters.
The council stressed it would pursue “terrorism wherever it resides” and rejected attempts to destabilize the region. Investigations into the abduction are ongoing, and the situation in western and eastern Deir Ezzor remains tense amid intermittent cross-frontline exchanges.