ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least three members of the internal security forces of northeast Syria were killed on Sunday in a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) landmine explosion.

The landmine detonated on a security patrol vehicle on the Raqqa-Hasaka road, announced the Kurdish autonomous administration’s local security forces (Asayish).

“A guided landmine detonated in the patrol vehicle, killing three of our members while they were performing their duty to protect the road and secure the movement of civilians,” read a statement by the Asayish, adding that another member of their team has been wounded and is receiving medical treatment. 

The incident “comes amidst the escalating activity of ISIS in various areas of northern and eastern Syria, particularly around al-Hol and some rural areas of Raqqa and Hasakah,” the Asayish detailed. 

Located in the Hasakah province in northern Syria, Al-Hol is one of the largest camps, hosting approximately 40,000 displaced people from various nationalities, including families of Iraqi, Syrian, and foreign ISIS militants.

Years of civil war and political turmoil have rendered Syria a hotbed for extremist groups. Though territorially defeated, groups such as ISIS still pose a major security threat through hit-and-run operations.

The Asayish vowed “to track down the elements involved in this cowardly act,” warning that undermining the stability of the region will not go unpunished.

ISIS took control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, announcing its self-proclaimed caliphate with the Iraqi city of Mosul as its capital. They were territorially defeated with assistance from the US-led coalition forces in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019.

The SDF has repeatedly warned of the extremist group's resurgence in the wake of the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in December.

US-backed Kurdish forces currently control the bulk of the northeastern and eastern regions of Syria, amounting to a quarter of the territory of the country, and played a decisive role on the ground in defeating ISIS in Syria alongside American aerial support.