|
SDF launch last push against ISIS in Syria
 [Rudaw] Kurdish-led forces in Syria have begun their last offensive against ISIS in the country. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) "started to move on to the last village remaining under jihadists’ control in [northern] Syria," said SDF press officer Mustafa Bali on Saturday evening. The "village of Baghouz, which is the only remaining ISIS pocket, will be cleared soon," he declared. The decision to begin the final stage of the military campaign was made only after more than 20,000 civilians had evacuated the battleground, he added. The night before, Bali had told Rooters they had opened a safe corridor and were receiving civilians every day. He denied reports that they were in negotiations with ISIS to take control of Baghouz while giving forces of Evil passage to another location. There is no intention to enter negotiations, he told Rooters. Earlier on Saturday, the Syriac Military Council, which fights under the SDF umbrella, announced they had sent an assault group for the "final operation/attack to defeat ISIS in Baghouz." The Baghouz area on the shores of the Euphrates River in eastern Deir ez-Zor province, near the border with Iraq, is the last piece of significant territory held by the jihadists who had once controlled swathes of land across Iraq and Syria. There are an estimated 1,000 fighters holed up in Baghouz.
"The battle is very fierce," he later told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "Those remaining inside are the most experienced who are defending their last stronghold. According to this you can imagine the ferocity and size of the fighting." Bali did not say how long they expect the battle to last. The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said SDF fighters are advancing "cautiously" due to mines planted by IS button men. It said US-led coalition warplanes are giving cover to advancing SDF fighters. US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... predicted Wednesday that IS will have lost all of its territory by next week. "It should be formally announced sometime, probably next week, that we will have 100 percent of the caliphate," Trump told representatives of the 79-member, US-led coalition fighting IS. The Observatory said that since the SDF began its offensive against IS in the area on Sept. 10, some 1,279 IS gunmen and 678 SDF fighters have been killed. It said 401 civilians, including 144 children and teenagers, have been killed since then. Earlier Saturday, IS militants attacked SDF fighters near an oil field in the country’s east, triggering airstrikes by the US-led coalition. The Observatory said 12 IS gunmen attacked the SDF and clashed with them for several hours until most of the attackers were killed early Saturday. It said 10 attackers were killed, while two managed to flee. Other activist collectives, including the Step news agency, reported the attack, saying some of the attackers used motorcycles rigged with explosives. Posted by: trailing wife 2019-02-10 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=534017 |