Syrian Army Gains Ground in Raqqa

Syrian troops and allied forces made a swift advance against the so-called Islamic State in western Raqqa province Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing a military media unit.

Hezbollah’s military media unit said that pro-government forces advanced 20 miles (32km) south from positions near Maskaneh toward the Ithriya-Tabqa highway, which was used by ISIS to attack positions along the government’s main supply route to Aleppo.

Pro-government forces also captured at least seven villages from the jihadist group in desert territory west of Raqqa, the media unit said.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that pro-government forces have seized a total of nine positions from ISIS in Raqqa’s southwestern countryside.

Syrian government forces and affiliated paramilitary groups first reached the provincial borders of Raqqa last week. The government’s advance coincides with the invigorated push by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) toward Raqqa’s provincial capital.

U.S. Military Boosts Combat Power in Southern Syria

The U.S. military moved one of its long-range rocket artillery systems from Jordan to a strategic flashpoint area in southern Syria, CNN reported Tuesday.

Three U.S. defense officials confirmed to CNN that the military has deployed its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a truck-mounted system that can fire missiles as far as 185 miles (300km), to a training base in the southern Syrian town of Tanf for the first time.

The area, which has seen recurrent coalition strikes against pro-government forces over the past few weeks, has emerged as the latest battleground between U.S.-backed forces and Iranian-sponsored supporters of the Syrian government.

One defense official told CNN that the HIMARS move was a response to activity by pro-regime forces, who have been deploying their own artillery near the perimeter of the 34-mile (55km) “de-confliction zone” surrounding Tanf.

Last week, U.S. warplanes downed a pro-government drone that fired at a patrol unit of U.S.-backed forces in southern Syria. The U.S. military has also carried out at least three separate attacks against pro-government forces in Tanf since March.

ISIS Resists SDF Advances

U.S.-backed forces are locked in fierce fighting with the so-called Islamic State in an industrial zone east of Raqqa city, Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday.

The SDF reached the al-Sinaa district earlier this week, but their advance has been slowed down by the militants’ stiff resistance.

“There is fierce fighting against Daesh, which is making heavy use of mines and snipers and sometimes car bombs,” Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the SDF campaign for Raqqa, told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

SOHR also reported intense fighting in the area.

“The district is not yet completely secured because of the repeated jihadist attacks,” the monitoring group said.

Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman told AFP that the capture of the al-Sinaa zone would be the SDF’s “most important advance in the battle for Raqqa because it brings them to the center of the city.”

The SDF has been working to encircle Raqqa since November in an offensive backed by the U.S.-led coalition.

Recommended Reads

• The New York Times: Beyond Raqqa, an Even Bigger Battle to Defeat ISIS and Control Syria Looms
• Newsweek: What Is Trump’s Plan for Syria When ISIS Is Gone?
• The Independent: Why I’m Calling for a National Ban on the Terms ISIS and Islamic State
• Boston Herald: Brookes: Expect an Ugly Rumble in Raqqa
• Task & Purpose: The Complexity of Syria’s War Is Catching Up to the U.S.