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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| US airstrikes planned for Raqqa |
| 2016-10-24 |
| [ARA News] Duhok – The international coalition and local allies should start an operation to isolate the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria’s Raqqa in conjunction with the Mosul operation, US Defence Chief Ashton Carter said on Sunday. Raqqa is considered a de facto capital for ISIS in Syria. As the assault intensified on Mosul, which is the group’s major bastion in Iraq, ISIS started to fortify its headquarters in Raqqa. Carter, who visited the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Sunday to discuss the Mosul operation, said: “We want to see an isolation operation begin around Raqqa as soon as possible.” “We are working with our partners there [in Syria] to do that,” he said. “There will be some simultaneity to these two operations [Mosul and Raqqa].” According to Carter, the US-led coalition has earlier considered launching simultaneous operations against ISIS in Mosul and Raqqa. “This idea has been part of our planning for quite a while.” ISIS on Wednesday tightened its security measures in the city of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria. According to eyewitnesses and activists, the extremist group has imposed a curfew in the city centre, installed new checkpoints and erected concrete road blocks. There has been a two-weeks-long state of alert amongst ISIS jihadists in Raqqa, which serves as a de facto capital of the self-declared Caliphate. “ISIS erected barriers between major districts of Raqqa city,” media activist Abdulkarim al-Yousef told ARA News in Raqqa. “New security checkpoints have been installed across the city, including near the al-Naeem Roundabout, al-Muhafaza Square, Saad Bin Muaz Mosque and al-Zedan Square.” While ISIS tightened its internal security, ISIS vehicles arrived in Raqqa, coming from Iraq. According to S. Awad, an eyewitness, “More than 20 vehicles crossed the border and entered Raqqa on Tuesday at midnight, carrying ISIS militants and weapons.” The Islamic State’s new redeployments and repression are likely related to the advances being made by US-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces. On Monday, allied forces began the battle for Mosul and rapidly progressed towards the Caliphate’s Iraqi capital. Kurdish Peshmerga commander Qassim Shesho confirmed to ARA News that a large number of ISIS jihadists have fled Mosul’s countryside through the Ba’aj road. The Ba’aj road rarely appears on maps. It is an unofficial roadway created by ISIS, connecting Mosul city in northern Iraq to Raqqa city in central Syria. |
| Posted by:badanov |