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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| YPG-led forces take 3 villages from ISIS near Raqqa |
| 2017-01-04 |
| [EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces on Tuesday pressed new advances in the northern countryside of Raqqa city, taking three villages from ISIS after fierce fighting, the U.S. backed group said. The coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters took villages of al-Dahlan, Arir and Hanhood north and west of al-Raqqa city, the de facto capital of the myrmidon group's self-declared caliphate. The new advance will push SDF further to encircle Raqqa city as the northern and western countryside is almost taken from ISIS. The YPG-led forces have 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. SDF 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 capture of the dam, which controls the flow of water to parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq, would deal a major blow to the myrmidon 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. |
| Posted by:Fred |