Syrian Democratic Forces - Page 2

Drone footage from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa shows the extent of devastation caused by weeks of fighting between Kurdish-led forces and the Islamic State group and thousands of bombs dropped by the U.S.-led coalition.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — US-backed Syrian forces liberated the city of Raqqa from Islamic State militants on Tuesday, a senior commander for the force said, adding that clearing operations were underway to remove land mines left behind and search for the extremist group’s sleeper cells.

Contents: Mattis and Tillerson work to prevent Iraq vs Kurd military confrontation in Kirkuk; ISIS fighters permitted to leave Raqqa, Syria, with human shields; Syria demands ‘immediately’ pullout of Turkey’s forces from Idlib province

AIN ISSA (SYRIA) – Some foreign Islamic State group fighters have left the one-time jihadist bastion of Raqa in Syria under a deal as the city’s capture nears, a local official said Sunday.

Contents: International Red Cross: Fighting in Syria worst since Aleppo; Analyst gives a chilling analysis of where the Syrian war is going

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia alliance led by the Syrian Kurds, claims Russian warplanes bombed their positions in the Deir al-Zor province on Monday. Russia has denied the allegations, while U.S. commanders said they could not verify the source of the attack on the SDF.

Local Syrian forces have captured and turned over to the U.S. military an unnamed American citizen fighting for ISIS.

In an interview with Lebanese television on Thursday, a top adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Bouthaina Shaaban, said the Syrian civil war has reached its “penultimate stage” after six long and bloody years. She described the capture of the long-besieged city of Aleppo as a “U-turn” in the conflict.

Contents: Turkey threatens the Kurds in Afrin, Syria, with Operation Euphrates Sword; Turkey’s assault on Afrin may jeopardize the battle in Raqqa

The U.S. Central Command reported on Wednesday that units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have penetrated the Rafiqah Wall in Raqqa, a landmark barrier surrounding the Islamic State’s most heavily defended positions in the city that once served as the capital of their terror state.

Contents: In dramatic development, US warplanes smash fortified wall in Raqqa, Syria; Turkey fears double-cross from US on arms for Syrian Kurds; Concerns grow about Syrian conflict after defeat of ISIS

An ivory-coloured rosary swings from the rearview mirror of Abboud Seryan’s pickup truck as he speeds through Syria’s Raqa, inspecting the positions of fellow Christian fighters taking on the Islamic State group.

Contents: Iran scores strategic victory in Syria with land route from Tehran to Mediterranean; Russia warns US that its jets in eastern Syria will be treated as targets

On Monday morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that planes from the U.S.-led coalition in Syria will be treated as hostile targets west of the Euphrates River. The announcement was made in response to the U.S. downing of a Syrian warplane on Sunday.

Contents: US coalition warplane shoots down Syrian regime warplane targeting SDF; Iran launches missiles at ISIS targets in Deir az-Zour in major escalation

A U.S.-backed Syrian opposition force said Sunday it has captured a northwestern neighborhood of the Islamic State group’s de-facto capital of Raqqa the second district to fall in their hands in days after the group launched a wide offensive to gain control of the extremists’ de facto capital.

Contents: Turkey builds a northern Syria ‘National Army’ from Free Syrian Army militias; US begins arming YPG Kurds in northern Syria on eve of battle of Raqqa

Contents: Syria’s Bashar al-Assad accused of burning thousands of political opponents in crematorium; Final push to expel ISIS from Raqqa, Syria, to begin in June

Contents: US will ‘quickly’ arm Kurdish militias in Syria, despite Turkey’s opposition; Turkish officials furious at plans to arm the Kurds

Contents: Kurdish forces in Syria take Tabqa city en route to Raqqa; US military moves to protect Syrian Kurds from Turkey’s military

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Islamic State militants carried out a surprise attack on the Syrian village of Rajm Sleibi in the early hours of Tuesday morning, killing at least 22 people.

The UK Daily Mail reports that an April 11 airstrike in Syria by U.S. coalition planes accidentally hit a Syrian Democratic Forces unit, killing 18 “friendly fighters.”

The Pentagon cast substantial doubt on a possible role for Turkey in the assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital in Syria, during a press conference in Iraq on Wednesday.

Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reported to have abandoned Mosul, leaving local commanders behind to lead the battle against Iraqi forces advancing in the city.

WASHINGTON – A U.S. plan to help Syrian allies retake Raqqa, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s stronghold in Syria, could involve more U.S. troops getting significantly closer to the fight.

A U.S.-backed Syrian force launched a new phase of its campaign to retake the eastern part of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have requested more weapons from its allies in the U.S.-led coalition in order to properly execute the mission.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to retake an area that supplies Damascus with water and rejected any negotiations on his departure at upcoming talks in Kazakhstan.

Drawing the US deeper into the Syria conflict, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Saturday he is sending 200 more troops to accelerate the push on the Islamic State’s self-declared capital of Raqqa.

Contents: US-backed Kurdish militias in Syria make surprise announcement of Raqqa operation; Is Syria’s Bashar al-Assad a ‘necessary evil’?

U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian forces have announced the start of a campaign to retake the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa from the extremist group.

For Shawakh Gharib, it’s time to take revenge. With the start of the offensive to conquer Raqqa, the Syrian fighter believes his dream of going home will soon come true.

Rebel factions, backed by the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, have reportedly launched a major offensive to break the siege east of Syria’s Aleppo city by forces loyal to the Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad.

America’s NATO ally Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish fighters allied with a U.S.-backed militia in Syria, a testament to the growing rift between Ankara and Washington over the war against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in the Middle East.

Rebel fighters affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reportedly discovered a “hidden” detention center in northern Syria where Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) jihadists used the “worst, most violent torture tools” on female prisoners.

Fighting has erupted in northern Syria between two US allies on opposing sides of a Turkish military offensive — the now Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

KARKAMIS, Turkey – Rebels supported by Turkey fought Kurdish-backed forces in north Syria on Saturday, as Ankara ratcheted up its cross-border offensive by saying it had launched air strikes against both Kurdish forces and ISIS. Turkey’s government, which is fighting