BEIRUT: A powerful Syrian Kurdish militia announced on Sunday it had cleared Daesh group fighters from key territory east of the winding Euphrates River.
In a surprising announcement, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) also said the victory in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province came with logistical and air support from Russia, as well as the US-led coalition, its traditional backer.
The YPG was spearheading a US-backed offensive to oust Daesh from territory east of the Euphrates River, which cuts diagonally across Deir Ezzor, while rival Russian-backed Syrian troops battled Daesh on the western bank.
It appears to the first time Syria’s Kurds acknowledge receiving direct Russian support.
On Sunday, YPG officials met with a Russian military delegation in a town on the eastern bank of Deir Ezzor province, according to the Kurdish-run ANHA news agency.
“The eastern countryside of the city has been fully liberated from Islamic State... with the international coalition and Russia’s support,” YPG spokesman Nuri Mahmoud said in a statement referring to Daesh.
“We thank the international coalition and the Russian forces for their air, logistical, advisory support and coordination on the ground.”
Mahmoud said the YPG “hoped for an increase in support and the provision of air defense and required cover.”
Daesh jihadists once held most of oil-rich Deir Ezzor, but now control only a tiny sliver of the province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
On Sunday, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Daesh still held several villages in the province, on both banks of the Euphrates River.
The YPG formed the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an Arab-Kurdish alliance that ousted Daesh from swathes of northern and eastern Syria, with help from the US-led coalition.
In September, the SDF began its assault on Daesh positions in the eastern half of Deir Ezzor province, as Russian-backed government troops squeezed Daesh in the western half.
The SDF accused Moscow of striking its forces several times during the drive, which makes Sunday’s announcement of Russian support all the more surprising.
Last week, the White House said it would be making “adjustments” to its military support of militia in Syria.
The US-led coalition has provided air support, weapons, and advice to the YPG and SDF in their push against Daesh.
Kurds announce Daesh losses in east Syria with US, Russia help
Kurds announce Daesh losses in east Syria with US, Russia help
Turkiye detains 110 suspects in operation targeting Daesh after deadly clash
- In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Daesh on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkiye, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor’s statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected Daesh militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally. The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkiye was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
