RAQQA, North and East Syria — The Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria announced on Sunday that they had arrested a group of individuals in the city of Raqqa on charges of carrying out acts intended to undermine public order and spread fear among residents.
According to the official statement, the Internal Security Forces, operating under the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES), said the arrests followed an investigation into a series of incidents that included the raising of extremist flags, celebratory gunfire in residential neighborhoods, and the appearance of inflammatory slogans on walls targeting military forces and public service institutions.
The Internal Security Forces said preliminary findings indicate that the group was part of a coordinated cell tasked with creating an atmosphere of instability in the city, which was once the de facto capital of the Islamic State (ISIS) and has struggled to recover from years of war and destruction.
According to the statement, the suspects raised flags associated with Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front), an extremist Islamist militant group, and fired weapons into the air at night — actions described by authorities as deliberate attempts to intimidate civilians and signal the continued presence of extremist networks.
Investigators also said the group filmed these acts, edited the footage, and later posted it on social media platforms. The videos were reportedly accompanied by jihadist chants taken from Islamic State propaganda, a tactic aimed at amplifying their psychological impact and spreading fear.
Authorities added that the suspects had been promised financial compensation for each documented act, including graffiti, gunfire, or the display of militant symbols, suggesting an organized effort to recruit and exploit what the statement described as “vulnerable individuals” in exchange for money.
Security officials said video-recorded confessions from those detained would be released in the coming days to “clarify the nature of the plots and their intended objectives.”
Raqqa remains a sensitive security environment years after the defeat of the terrorist ISIS group, with local authorities frequently warning of sleeper cells and online propaganda campaigns aimed at destabilizing the region. The Internal Security Forces reaffirmed their commitment to continuing operations to prevent any resurgence of extremist activity and to maintain stability in the city.