Iraqi forces have launched a broad operation to root out fighters from the Islamic State group who have been harassing security forces in remote border areas, officers said Thursday. The army, backed by aircraft from the US-led coalition and local tribal fighters, launched their sweep at dawn in desert areas of Anbar province where the … Read more
US-backed fighters hunted for jihadist holdouts in Syria’s Tabqa on Thursday after overrunning the city and nearby dam in a step forward for their advance on Islamic State group stronghold Raqa. The Syrian Democratic Forces scored one of their biggest victories against IS as controversy intensified over a US decision to arm the alliance’s Kurdish … Read more
A US-backed alliance of Syrian Arab and Kurdish fighters on Wednesday captured the key city of Tabqa and its nearby dam from Islamic State group jihadists, the force and a monitor told AFP. “The Syrian Democratic Forces seized control of Tabqa and the adjacent dam,” said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human … Read more
Dozens of Islamic State group fighters cornered in a northern part of Syria’s Tabqa are holding off US-backed forces that hold almost all of the city, a monitor said Sunday. Tabqa sits on the Euphrates River and on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa, the Syrian heart of IS’s … Read more
Russia on Friday said it had already stopped bombing in areas of Syria set to be designated safe zones under an agreement it inked with Iran and Turkey. The three key powerbrokers signed off on a Russian plan Thursday to establish four “de-escalation zones” in rebel-held territory of the war-torn country in a bid to … Read more
US-backed fighters battled to clear the Islamic State group from a final pocket of Syria’s Tabqa on Tuesday after seizing 90 percent of the city, the force and a monitor said. Tabqa sits on the Euphrates River as well as on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa, the Syrian … Read more
Jihadist fighters killed at least 10 soldiers in the western Iraqi province of Anbar on Tuesday in their latest deadly attack on security forces in the area, officers said. The attack near the remote outpost of Rutba brought to at least 26 the number of members of the Iraqi security forces killed by the Islamic … Read more
US-backed fighters cornered the Islamic State group in a last part of Tabqa on Monday, after tearing down a huge jihadist flag that had fluttered over the northern Syrian city. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, were in control of all but a fifth of Tabqa as of early … Read more
US-backed fighters have captured 80 percent of Syria’s Tabqa from the Islamic State group, a monitor said on Monday, a week after they first entered the town. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Tabqa from the south last week and have steadily advanced north, cornering IS in three contiguous neighbourhoods on the bank of … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday his government is ‘seriously saddened’ by television footage showing US military forces operating alongside Syrian Kurdish fighters that Ankara views as terrorists and Washington believes are the most effective fighting force against Islamic State jihadists. Turkish forces last week launched airstrikes on Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), … Read more
Turkish warplanes killed more than 20 Kurdish fighters Tuesday in strikes in Syria and Iraq, where the Kurds are key players in the battle against the Islamic State group. The deadliest bombardment was on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who are leading the US-backed fight for the important IS-held town of Tabqa in northern … Read more
Turkish warplanes conducted a barrage of air strikes on Kurdish positions in northeast Syria early Tuesday, leaving several fighters dead, Kurdish forces and a monitor said. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said the strikes hit their positions near the Syrian border town of Al-Malikiyah at 2:00 am Tuesday (2300 GMT Monday). “Turkish planes carried … Read more
Syria’s Tabqa, which US-backed forces entered Monday, is doubly strategic: it lies on the road to the Islamic State group’s Raqa bastion and the nearby dam is the country’s largest. Tabqa is both the name of the town and the dam and capturing both would allow the US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic … Read more
US forces operating in Syria have killed a senior member of the Islamic State group blamed for an attack on a nightclub that left 39 dead, officials said Friday. “We will reach you anywhere,” Brett McGurk, the US diplomat who coordinates the coalition fighting the jihadist group in Iraq and Syria, said in a tweet … Read more
A coalition air strike accidentally killed 18 members of a US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance fighting the Islamic State group near a key town in northern Syria, the US-led coalition said Thursday. Tuesday’s strike occurred south of Tabqa, a strategically important town on the Euphrates River next to a dam and military airport, and close to the … Read more
Turkey says it has “successfully” ended its seven-month Euphrates Shield military campaign in northern Syria. But Prime Minister Binali Yildirim did not rule out new military operations and did not say whether Turkish troops would now leave Syria. Turkey launched the offensive last August to push Islamic State militants away from its border and also … Read more
Turkey has officially ended the “Euphrates Shield” military operation it launched in Syria last August, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, but suggested there might be more cross-border campaigns to come. Turkey sent troops, tanks and warplanes to support Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, push ISIL fighters away from its border and stop the … Read more
Four Syrian towns are to be evacuated under an agreement between pro-government forces and rebels, in the latest of a series of deals to end crippling years-long sieges. The agreement, brokered by rebel supporter Qatar and regime ally Iran, is expected to involve more than 30,000 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The … Read more
Clashes raged around a key northern Syrian town on Tuesday after the Islamic State group launched a counter-attack to fend off a US-backed advance near the jihadists’ stronghold Raqa. Backed by air power from an international coalition bombing IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are laying the groundwork for an assault on the heart of the … Read more
The Islamic State group launched a counter-attack Tuesday against US-backed fighters closing in on a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes were raging around Tabqa, a town on the southern bank of the Euphrates River. “The fighting is a result of IS launching a … Read more