Syrian army opens new front as Islamic State’s many foes launch coordinated attacks
The Syrian army’s new offensive was described in a pro-Damascus Lebanese newspaper as part of “the race for Raqqa”.
The Syrian army backed by Russian air strikes has opened a major new front against Islamic State (IS), the third big assault on the self-proclaimed caliphate this week after Iraqi forces attempted to storm a city and a Syrian militia advanced with US support.
The week’s three big offensives are some of the most aggressive campaigns against IS since it declared its aim to rule over all Muslims from parts of Iraq and Syria two years ago. They signal apparent new resolve by the group’s disparate foes on a range of fronts.
Heavy Russian air strikes hit IS-held territory in eastern areas of Syria’s Hama province, near the boundary of Raqqa province on Friday. Raqqa city, further east, is IS’s de facto capital in Syria and, along with Mosul in Iraq, the ultimate goal of those seeking to destroy the group’s rule.
The Syrian army had advanced some 20km and was now near the edge of the provincial boundary, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war.
Separately, US-backed militias, including a Syrian Kurdish force called the YPG and new Arab allies recruited to fight alongside it, have been pressing a multipronged attack against IS in other parts of Raqqa province and neighbouring Aleppo province.
This week, they began a push towards the city of Manbij near the Turkish border, aiming to seize the last 80km stretch of Turkish-Syrian frontier under IS control and cut the group’s main external link for manpower and supplies.
