Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

US-backed troops enter Syria’s Deir Al Zor province

936366
936366
minus
plus

BEIRUT: The US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has crossed into Deir al Zor province for the first time as part of an offensive against IS, a Kurdish military source said on Tuesday.


The advance into the province, most of which is under the control of the ultra-hardline group, is part of an operation to encircle and ultimately capture its de facto Syrian capital of Raqqa in the north of the country.


One aim of the campaign is to cut IS’s supply lines from Raqqa to Deir al Zor province.


The move also expands the SDF’s area of operations against IS, which is being fought by all sides in the complex Syria conflict.


Later on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that at least 11 people were killed and more than 35 wounded in air strikes in a town in northern Deir al Zor province, in an area where US-led coalition warplanes have operated.


It was not clear whose air force had carried them out, or if the incident was linked to the SDF advance, the Observatory said.


“Military operations of the SDF are now taking place within the provincial boundaries of Deir al Zor, from the north — so, via southern Hasaka (province),” the Kurdish military source said.


The SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia and Arab fighting groups, captured some 15 villages from IS militants in their incursion into the province, the source added, without specifying when this had taken place.


IS controls most of Deir al Zor province apart from a Syrian government-held enclave in Deir al Zor city and a nearby military air base.


Different groups in Syria’s multi-sided conflict are fighting a number of separate battles against IS.


Syria’s army and its allies, backed by Russia, have been fighting back against IS assaults in Deir al Zor city and have engaged in clashes with the group further west.


Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, meanwhile, are fighting for control of the northern city of al Bab, which monitors say is still mostly in IS hands, but which the rebels have pushed into.— Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon