The assault on Raqqa is underway. Thousands of U.S. backed Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces pounce on the major ISIS stronghold as U.S. Military rain down Air Strikes on key installations in the city. However, the strikes were also directed to against Pro-Assad forces entering the "de-confliction zone" in Syria. This is the first major move of the U.S. backed coalition in its fight to destroy the home territories of the Islamic state.
Why did the U.S. attacked Pro-Assad forces?
A contingent of Syrian government forces bore the brunt of an air strike after it neglected warnings from the U.S.
military not to enter the "deconfliction zone." This is an area around the town of Al Tanf, where U.S. forces are training Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. United States forces in the ground repeatedly issued warnings on Assad's forces that entered this zone to immediately vacate it.
However, despite these warnings, Assad's forces continued to enter this zone. This forced the U.S. Military to conduct air strikes on the incoming forces thus inflicting heavy damage. This is the second time U.S. forces deliberately attacked Pro-Assad forces in Syria. This incident may lead to further tension as the Syrian forces as also on the march against ISIS and actually reclaiming huge swathes of territory, more than the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian rebels combined.
Russia had condemned the attacks saying that the U.S. strike is a step towards engaging open conflict with Syria and that it is an act of aggression. Assad's regime also have openly protested U.S. military involvement in the Syria.
What is the progress of the Raqqa offensive?
Thousands of Kurdish warriors in the SDF poured down into Raqqa, the capital of ISIS power in Syria.
The attack was orchestrated by the U.S. Military and supported by tactical air strikes. The attack is reportedly on its final leg as it tries to exterminate remaining ISIS fighters still entrenched inside the city.
However, the Syrian government and even Turkey are weary of the SDF. They fear that the rebel forces will be used by the United States as a tool to take over Syria, destabilizing the region once more.
Turkey have warned Washington that they will not hesitate to bomb SDF locations if provoked, knowing that most of its soldiers are Kurds, a tribe condemned by Turkey as terrorists.
The assault on Raqqa is far from over, but ISIS is indeed losing its place in Syria. It is just a matter of time that the Islamic state will be pushed out of the country and into Iraq, where the United States has more freedom of movement to inflict the fatal blow to this terrorist group.
