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U.S.-backed SDF takes new ground from ISIS near Raqqa
 [EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces took new ground from the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... in the western countryside of Raqqa city, the U.S.-backed militia said in statement Wednesday. The SDF fighters captured Haddaj village after two days of festivities with ISIS. The ongoing advance will be to control the strategic village of al-Mahmoudelly near Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS. On Tuesday, Tlal Sillo, a front man for SDF said the fighters, with the support of U.S., French and British special forces, have driven ISIS from dozens of villages and farms in recent days and are now about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Euphrates Dam. The SDF, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, has been on the offensive in Raqqa province since early November, advancing with the aid of U.S.-led The city is home to nearly 200,000 mostly Sunni Arabs and an estimated 5,000 ISIS fighters. "The ongoing operation is the second phase west of Raqqa," Sillo said, adding that the first phase was north of the city. "More phases will come later to isolate the city and then to begin liberating it." The capture of the dam, which controls the flow of water to parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq, would deal a major blow to the bad boy group, which has held the facility for more than two years. Behind the dam lies Lake Assad, which at 640 square kilometers (247 square miles), is Syria's largest reservoir. Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties on the other. The ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency reported Monday that 24 SDF fighters were killed in the area, while Sillo said his forces had killed dozens of bad boys. The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fate of a top ISIS military commander known as Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti is still unknown after he was targeted by U.S.-led coalition aircraft. The Syrian army said Abu Jandal was killed fighting in the Tabqa area near the dam. ISIS supporters on social media confirmed he was killed. Posted by: Fred 2016-12-30 |
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