|
SDF announce capturing 55% of Syrian Raqqa
The Syrian Democratic Forces militia announced, today, that it expanded its control over the city of Raqqa, after advancing into al-Bareed neighborhood, southwest of the city, and recapturing the headquarters of the Military Police, Civil Defense and others. Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... 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.... -owned Amaq News Agency did not publish any details regarding the areas the radical group controls in Raqqa since the start of the offensive. SDF Media Office Director, Mostafa Bali, said that the battles are now concentrated northwest of Raqa, especially in the neighborhoods of Nahda, Bareed and Rawda. 2,000 ISIS fighters left in Raqqa: Coalition official [ARA News] The United States’ anti-ISIS coalition envoy Brett McGurk has confirmed that a total of 2,000 ISIS fighters are left in Raqqa, adding that these jihadists will die in Raqqa, where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue their military operations against the radical group. "We estimate there’s about 2,000 ISIS fighters left in Raqqa. I’m always hesitant to give numbers like that, because it’s ‐ this is an inexact science. We think there’s about 2,000 ISIS fighters left in Raqqa, and they most likely will die in Raqqa," the coalition envoy said. "UN estimates now ‐ there’s about 25,000 civilians on the ground in Raqqa. It could be higher, but that is a UN estimate. And what’s really happening in Raqqa ‐ similar to what we saw in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... but on a smaller scale ‐ the ISIS fighters on the ground are using these civilians as their own shields, as their own hostages," he added. "They are using snipers to kill civilians who are trying to escape. They’re trying to put jacket wallahs in columns of displaced people as they try to get out ‐ the similar tactics we’ve seen from this barbaric terrorist organization in other cities," McGurk said. However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... he said the tactic of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces is now to connect the east to the west. "They could connect now, but they have to clear some high-rise buildings before they join forces at a roadway. And that’ll really help accelerate the second phase of the operation to clear the rest of the city." "Today in Raqqa, ISIS is fighting for every last block, and trying to defend blocks that they are about to lose. They are fighting for their own survival. It is a fundamentally transformed situation. The Raqqa operation to seize Raqqa launched on June 6th, and as of today, as I mentioned, the SDF has seized about 45 percent of Raqqa," he concluded. Moreover, the US official said that the majority of the civilians flee to SDF-held areas. "So as IDPs come out of areas that have been controlled by ISIS ‐ these are people who have been living under ISIS for the last three years ‐ we are seeing almost all of the IDPs flow north into the lines of the force we’re working with," he said. "They are not flowing west into regime areas; they are not leaving to go stay with ISIS in the east; they are not flowing south into the desert. They are all coming into the areas of the Syrian Democratic Forces," he added. According to the US official there are now around 324,000 IDPs from Raqqa. "We track this every single day. As of this morning, about 146,000 are in prepared sites and camps, about 177 or so thousand in communities. And what we see in Syria, as the population comes out from areas where the fighting is ongoing, they sit in transit camps. And as the areas are cleared, as they’re de-mined, the population then returns. We have seen this now repeatedly this pattern, which is a pretty good pattern," he stated. Three suburbs captured in Raqqa city after Kurdish forces resume offensive – Map update [AlMasdar] After a brief hiatus, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumed their Euphrates Wrath campaign in full force on Monday, securing a number of Raqqa’s residential areas 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.... Advancing on three axes in the same time, the Kurdish-led SDF managed to impose full control over the Karim district, thus establishing an important foothold in western Raqqa. In addition, the US-backed SDF finally overran the southern Hisham Ibn Abdulmalik district on Monday after ISIS snuffies had fought back for over two weeks. However, women are made to be loved, not understood... the largest advance today took place on the northeastern flank where Kurdish forces took control of most of the Rameleh district. During this assault, two schools, a sheep market and the local mosque were captured. In total, 16 ISIS members were killed on Monday, a military source told al-Masdar News. Some 2,000 jihadist snuffies are estimated to be held up in downtown Raqqa, many of whom are volunteering as jacket wallahs due to the hopeless situation. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-08-08 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=494521 |