BEIRUT: The IS group is “completely besieged” in its last major stronghold in Syria’s Aleppo province, a monitor said on Monday, as pro-regime
forces piled pressure on the group on several fronts.
IS fighters were cut off in Al Bab after forces loyal to the government severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
“Al Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west,” said the Britain-based monitor.
It came after “the Syrian forces and allied militia seized the only and last main road used by the fighters between Al Bab and Raqa,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said, referring to the group’s de facto capital in Syria.
Syrian forces were backed by fighters from Hizbullah and by Russian artillery, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.
The town of Al Bab, 25 km south of the border with Turkey, is seen as a prize by nearly all sides in the complex war. Since December, Turkey-backed rebel fighters known as the Euphrates Shield alliance have edged towards Al Bab from the north.
In January, Turkey’s air force began carrying out joint bombing raids around Al Bab with Assad’s ally Russia.
The two parties back opposing sides in the war but have joined forces in recent months to try to bring an end to the conflict.
Syria has refocused on IS since fully recapturing Aleppo city in December, in the biggest blow to rebel forces fighting to topple the government for nearly six years.
IS is among several terror movements that have shot to prominence during the conflict, which has left more than 310,000 people dead and has forced millions more from their homes.
Syrian forces were also locked in fighting with IS in the central province of Homs at the weekend, the Observatory said. It reported that the troops had captured the Hayyan oilfield west of the celebrated desert city of Palmyra.
They also fought back against IS around Al Seen military airport northeast of Damascus, said the monitoring group.
On Saturday, US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters announced a new phase in their campaign to capture Raqa, but said they needed more weapons to win.
The Syrian Democratic Forces launched their offensive for the key IS stronghold in November and have taken some ground further up the Euphrates Valley but are still some distance away.
SDF fighters have received training and air support from the US-led coalition against IS.
Last week Washington said it had provided them with armoured sports utility vehicles for the first time.
US President Donald Trump, who made fighting “radical terrorism” a central plank of his election campaign, was due to visit US Central Command on Monday, meeting officers
who will spearhead his new strategy to defeat IS.
The military command plays a key role in Operation Inherent Resolve — the US-led mission to “degrade and defeat” IS — which has resulted in 17,861 strikes across northern Syria and Iraq since August 2016.
In late January, Trump ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the US strategy to defeat the group.
— AFP
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