ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Sunday that it conducted a large-scale security campaign targeting Islamic State (ISIS) militants and criminal elements in the town of Al-Hisah, east of Ain Issa, that saw the arrest of 71 individuals.

"The operation resulted in the arrest of 71 individuals, including individuals affiliated with ISIS and members involved in organized crime networks engaged in robbery, theft, and drug trafficking, as well as individuals involved in activities aimed at destabilizing local security and threatening the safety of civilians," the Kurdish-led force said in a statement.

"During the operation, quantities of weapons, ammunition, and materials used to carry out acts of violence and terrorism were seized, contributing to the undermining of these cells' ability to harm security and civil peace," the statement continued. "The forces affirm that raiding the organizations' hideouts and pursuing their members was carried out in accordance with security operations rules and to preserve the safety of civilians."

"Our forces affirm the continuation of field and intelligence efforts to pursue ISIS remnants and dismantle organized crime networks that thrive at the expense of citizens' lives and property," the SDF concluded. 

Despite the group's territorial defeat and significantly diminished capacity, ISIS cells still pose a threat to stability in Syria and Iraq, with the SDF continuously mounting operations to seek out and destroy residual ISIS clusters.

Four SDF fighters were killed on September 27 in an ISIS attack in the town of Abriha in Deir ez-Zor, coming amid a wave of recent fatalities arising from SDF-ISIS clashes. 

The SDF has also clashed with Syrian state forces in recent times, coming as a March 10 agreement to integrate the organs of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Syria's northeast becomes increasingly unlikely amid ongoing delays

At least seven people were killed in artillery strikes in mid-September in Aleppo’s eastern Deir Hafer area in what the SDF called a "horrific massacre" perpetrated by "factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government and linked to the Turkish state."

Damascus laid the blame on the SDF for the incident, with the Syrian defense ministry telling SANA that it "holds the SDF fully responsible for the massacre" and that it constituted "an attempt to villainize the Syrian Arab Army."

Speaking at a summit in New York in September, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that "the continued existence of any entity like the SDF organization would endanger the security of Iraq, Turkey, and Syria," according to Syrian state media. 

"We have offered SDF integration into the Syrian army and assured them that Kurdish rights would be protected, but there was a delay in implementing what was agreed upon," the president continued.

The New Region reported on Saturday that SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi is expected to travel to the Kurdistan Region in the coming days.