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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    US-backed force attacks last IS pocket in eastern Syria

    US-backed force attacks last IS pocket in eastern Syria


    • 5 hours ago


    AFP Image caption US-led coalition forces are supporting the SDF offensive with air and artillery strikes

    A US-backed militia alliance has begun what it says is the final stage of a campaign to clear the Islamic State (IS) group from north-eastern Syria.

    The Syrian Democratic Forces launched a ground offensive on Monday against jihadist militants around Hajin, a town in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.


    The international coalition backing the Kurdish and Arab fighters said they were expecting a "difficult fight".


    The US recently estimated that IS still had about 14,000 militants in Syria
    .


    Most are believed to be in an area stretching east from the Euphrates to the border with Iraq, about 25km (16 miles) away from Hajin, and in desert areas in the south and centre of the country, where the Syrian government is battling them.


    Between 15,500 and 17,100 militants are thought to be based in Iraq, where IS no longer fully controls any territory. Many are hiding in the vast western desert.


    At its peak in 2014, IS established a "caliphate" stretching across Syria and Iraq that was similar in size to the UK and ruled over more than 7.7 million people.




    SDF fighters launched the operation to drive IS "remnants" out of Hajin and the remaining countryside of eastern Deir al-Zour province after clearing the Baghuz and Dashisha areas - to the north and south - over the past four months.


    An unnamed SDF commander told AFP news agency that at least 15 IS militants were killed in the first day of the Hajin offensive.



    "The clashes will be fierce in Hajin because Daesh [IS] has reinforced their positions, but we will take control of it," the commander added.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that the air strikes, artillery fire and ground attacks on IS positions were the heaviest in months.


    The SDF also set up a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee Hajin, it said.

    Skip Twitter post by @SDF_MOACC
    SDF_MOACC@SDF_MOACC

    Our forces launched on Monday Sep 10, 2018 since the evening hours the final phase of their victorious campaigns and last battle east of the Euphrates with the battle name #DefeatTerrorism aimed to eliminate #Daesh and liberating its last strongholds and villages and towns.

    1:21 AM - Sep 11, 2018



    "The multi-ethnic Syrian Democratic Forces remain committed to liberating the people of north-eastern Syria from [IS's] control and putting an end to the human suffering in the area," said Maj Gen Patrick Roberson, commander of the coalition's Special Operations Joint Task Force.

    "Moving forward, we will continue co-ordination with the SDF and other partners to promote regional security and stability that will ensure a lasting defeat of [IS]."


    Last month IS released an audio message purportedly from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
    , in which he declared that the caliphate would "remain", adding: "IS is not confined to Hajin."



    Media caption Ricardo Vilanova returns to the place where he was held captive by IS militants in SyriaBaghdadi's location is not known, but a coalition spokesman told AFP that it believed some high-value IS targets could still be present in Hajin.

    In a separate development on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 21 pro-government fighters had been killed in an ambush by IS militants in a remote Tulul al-Safa area of Suweida, in the south-west of the country.


    Syrian state media reported fierce clashes in the area, and said government aircraft and artillery had bombed IS "hideouts", killing or injuring scores of militants.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45484091
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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    US strikes prepare ground for Syrian Democratic Forces in anti-ISIS operation


    A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 lands at a remote location near the Iraqi-Syrian border to resupply Marines and soldiers with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, June 23, 2018. Iraqi Security Forces and coalition partners provided fire support to assist the Syrian Democratic Forces as they continue Operation Roundup, the military offensive to accelerate the defeat of ISIS remnants in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and Iraq-Syria border region.
    ANTHONY ZENDEJAS IV/U.S. ARMY




    By CHAD GARLAND | STARS AND STRIPES Published: September 11, 2018

    Syrian Democratic Forces launched the third phase of ground operations to clear Islamic State fighters from northeastern Syria on Monday, following cross-border air and artillery strikes from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

    The operations aim to clear ISIS from areas along the Middle Euphrates River Valley and toward the border with Iraq, the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition said in a statement Tuesday.


    Dubbed Operation Roundup, the effort began in May with the clearing of ISIS from near Baghuz, a village on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. A second phase that ended in late July swept the militants from around the town of Dashisha.


    For more than a month, the coalition has conducted operations in the village of Hajin and the countryside outside the city of Deir Ezzor to prepare for the advance. Coalition aircraft and artillery have carried out dozens of strikes in the border region in recent weeks.


    The Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, said in a separate statement on Tuesday that the four-axis ground assault would clear ISIS from villages and farms in an area of about 22-by-6 miles. The troops would take measures to avoid civilian suffering, such as providing humanitarian crossings for fleeing civilians and emergency camps with medical services, the SDF said.




    Coalition advisers turn their M777 Howitzer to prepare for a new fire mission at an outpost near Dashisha, Syria, June 9, 2018. The coalition has provided assistance and training to the Syrian Democratic Forces as they continue to reclaim their homeland from ISIS during Operation Roundup.
    TIMOTHY R. KOSTER/U.S. ARMY


    “While reaffirming our determination to move forward to end terrorism in the east of the Euphrates, (we) will spare no effort to do everything we can with regard to our humanitarian obligations,” the SDF statement said.

    The U.S. has drawn criticism for partnering with the group, which is largely made up of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG.

    Turkey considers the YPG an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Ankara and the U.S. State Department, among others, consider the PKK a terrorist organization.


    Observers have also criticized the SDF for drawing minors into its ranks. Last week, the group’s top commander issued orders to all factions and formations prohibiting the recruitment of children under age 18.


    In its statement on the new phase of the offensive, the coalition touted the Kurdish-led SDF as reliable and effective combat soldiers who abide by the laws of armed conflict.

    U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, coalition special operations task force commander, pledged continuing support to its partners and thanked them for their sacrifices in the anti-ISIS fight.


    Syria’s Kurds control much of the country’s northeast, which includes the majority Kurdish region they call Rojava.

    The Syrian regime has focused on fighting elsewhere during its seven-year-old civil war, but that could soon change as President Bashar al-Assad closes in on the final rebel enclave in the country’s northwest.


    Russia has also reportedly warned the U.S. more than once in recent weeks that it is prepared to back an Assad regime offensive in eastern Syria to clear militants from within a 34-mile “deconfliction zone” surrounding a small garrison near the city of At Tanf, where U.S. forces are based.


    Late last week, a company-sized element of Marines with the U.S.-led coalition carried out an exercise at the base, which observers saw as a show of force to ward off any impending incursion. The exercise involved an aerial assault and live-fire rehearsal, officials said, and Russia was notified of the event through existing deconfliction processes ahead of time.

    https://www.stripes.com/news/us-stri...ation-1.546988

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Amid little scrutiny, US military ramps up in Afghanistan - Military Times
    https://www.militarytimes.com/.../amid-little-scrutiny-us-military-ramps-up-in-afghani...
    Mar 10, 2018 - The U.S. is bolstering its military presence
    in Afghanistan, more than 16 years after the war started. Is anyone paying attention? . . .


    Trump Won't Pull US Troops From Afghanistan...
    https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2018/...us-troops-afghanistan...afghan.../149724/
    Jul 13, 2018 - “Today, we also decided to sustain our presence in Afghanistan until ... U.S. troops levels in Afghanistan were a concern going into the ...
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    Exclusive: Turkey boosts arms to Syrian rebels as Idlib attack looms ...
    https://www.reuters.com/...syria.../exclusive-turkey-boosts-arms-to-syrian-rebels-as-idl...
    3 hours ago - AMMAN (Reuters) - Turkey has stepped up arms supplies to Syrian rebels to help them stave off an expected offensive by the Syrian army and ...
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