usbacked forces push back is in raqqa campaign
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

US.-backed forces push back IS in Raqqa campaign

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today US.-backed forces push back IS in Raqqa campaign

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters gesture while posing on a damaged airplane inside Tabqa
Beirut - Arab today

U.S.-backed forces fighting IS in Syria advanced to within 2km (1 mile) of a key stronghold near the extremist group's de facto capital of Raqqa on Tuesday, and a counter-attack by the militants was repulsed, officials said.

The multi-phased campaign by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by air strikes and military advisers from a U.S.-led coalition, ultimately aims to oust IS from Raqqa. IS is also losing ground to U.S.-backed offensives in Iraq. Officials have given different estimates for how long the campaign will take, and the assault on Raqqa itself appears to have been delayed, after one high-ranking military official said it would begin at the start of April. 

Meanwhile the immediate goal is to capture the city of Tabqa, some 40km (25 miles) west of Raqqa, and a nearby dam on the Euphrates river, an official for the Raqqa campaign said. "For now, the target in front of our eyes is the city of Tabqa, and the dam," Gharib Rasho, a media official for the campaign, said.

He said the SDF had taken control of around 60 per cent of the dam, after capturing its northern entrance last month. The SDF is made up of Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces, including a large contingent from the powerful Kurdish YPG militia.

On Tuesday, SDF forces thwarted an IS counter-attack near Tabqa and advanced to within 2km of the city from the east, an SDF statement said. Rasho said IS had been trying to break a siege the SDF had imposed on Tabqa by attacking both from inside and from areas to its south which IS still holds.

It is unclear how many IS insurgents remain in Tabqa, but Rasho said they were "few", based on the estimates of residents fleeing the city. Thousands of residents have left in recent weeks, though tens of thousands are thought to remain in Tabqa.

The militants were using car bombs, mortar fire and suicide attackers - methods similar to those the extremists have employed to defend their urban bastion of Mosul in Iraq, he said.

Launched in November, the SDF offensive aims initially to isolate Raqqa, IS's main urban base in Syria. Forces have advanced on the city from the north, east and west. Encircling and capturing Tabqa is a major part of the campaign as the city and dam comprise a strategic base for IS. The focus on Tabqa does not rule out a simultaneous assault on Raqqa, campaign officials have said. But that assault appears already to have been delayed as IS resistance keeps forces busy around Tabqa.

The head of the YPG said last month the Raqqa assault would begin at the start of April, and would take no more than a few weeks. The commander of the Raqqa operation, also a YPG official, later said the offensive to capture the city would likely last several months. U.S. coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian said Washington's partners on the ground would choose when to move in on Raqqa.

"Ultimately we are isolating Raqqa and we're going to, at a time of our partner's choosing, move in and liberate that city from Daesh (IS)," he said in a statement.

"This is an important task. It's the equivalent in Syria of what's being done to eliminate the enemy in Mosul." The parallel U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive to drive IS out of Mosul has also taken longer than the Iraqi government predicted. Fighting there rages on between the armed forces and extremists who are holed up in its Old City.

Source: Timesofoman

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

usbacked forces push back is in raqqa campaign usbacked forces push back is in raqqa campaign

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

usbacked forces push back is in raqqa campaign usbacked forces push back is in raqqa campaign

 



GMT 14:51 2017 Thursday ,26 October

Syria footballers take refuge in Iraq as tables turn

GMT 04:47 2017 Friday ,22 September

US CEO sees bonus pay cut after ugly rant

GMT 04:31 2018 Friday ,28 September

Foreign ministry repatriates 78 Egyptians from Libya

GMT 00:57 2016 Tuesday ,07 June

Russia to teach anti-doping in schools

GMT 16:03 2017 Thursday ,28 September

Premier receives more congratulatory cables

GMT 23:47 2017 Thursday ,09 February

Samir Karzabi creates Algerian designs for fashion

GMT 13:56 2017 Wednesday ,26 April

Khalid bin Hamad to patronise MMA championship

GMT 11:03 2017 Wednesday ,20 September

US CEOs optimistic on economy, tax reform: survey

GMT 12:20 2017 Tuesday ,31 January

Turkey tourism income slumps

GMT 01:17 2016 Tuesday ,29 November

IDSC refutes laying off Egyptian expats in Kuwait

GMT 15:08 2017 Saturday ,26 August

Yellen defends post-crisis regulation

GMT 15:36 2016 Saturday ,22 October

Fellaini was Man United 'panic' buy

GMT 02:19 2017 Friday ,28 July

Chinese national deported from C. Sulawesi

GMT 05:19 2017 Thursday ,06 April

Cash must stay, even in digital age
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday