US-led Syrian forces ready to deal ‘decisive blow’ to stronghold city
THE offensive that saw USbacked forces break into the Islamic State group’s Syrian stronghold Raqqa yesterday aims to deal a “decisive blow” to the jihadists, the US-led antiIS coalition said.
Warning that it will be “long and difficult”, coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said the fight for Raqqa would “deliver a decisive blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate”.
After months sealing off access routes to the city, the Syrian Democratic Forces yesterday announced a new phase in their fight for Raqqa and quickly said they had entered city limits for the first time.
The force, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, has been backed US-led coalition air support, military advisers and weapons deliveries.
The coalition launched air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq in mid-2014 after the jihadists seized control of large parts of both countries.
US-backed offensives have since greatly reduced the territory the jihadists control, with Raqqa and Mosul in Iraq – where Iraqi forces have forced IS into a final bastion in the city’s west – the last major urban areas they hold.
“It’s hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin ‘capitals’ in both Iraq and Syria,” Townsend said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
He framed the offensive as part of a greater struggle against IS, which has claimed attacks in many countries including last month’s deadly bombing in Manchester.
“We all saw the heinous a t t a c k i n Manc h e s t e r,” Townsend said. “ISIS threatens all our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our homelands as well.”