Tag Archives: Raqqa

Trump’s son-in-law, Kushner, flies into Iraq with top U.S. general

U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner (L) speaks with Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before departing for Iraq from Ramstein Air Base, Germany April 3, 2017. DoD/Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro/Handout via REUTERS

By Phil Stewart

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, flew into Iraq on Monday with the top U.S. military officer to get a first-hand assessment of the battle against Islamic State from U.S. commanders on the ground and to meet Iraqi officials.

For Kushner, who has not been to Iraq before, the trip comes at a critical time as Trump examines ways to accelerate a U.S.-led coalition campaign that U.S. and Iraqi officials say has so far been largely successful in uprooting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

The visit appears to demonstrate the far-reaching portfolio of Kushner, 36, who is part of Trump’s innermost circle and who has been given a wide range of domestic and foreign policy responsibilities, including working on a Middle East peace deal.

Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he invited Kushner and Tom Bossert, White House homeland security adviser, to accompany him so they could hear “first-hand and unfiltered” from military advisers about the situation on the ground and interact with U.S. forces.

“I said, ‘Hey, next time I go to Iraq, if you’re interested, come and it’d be good,” Dunford said, adding he extended the invitation weeks ago.

That kind of ground-level awareness of the war helps inform strategic decisions, Dunford said, adding it was the same reason he regularly leaves Washington to visit Iraq.

“The more appreciation you could have for what’s actually happening on the ground, the more informed you are when you start talking about the strategic issues,” Dunford said.

Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, did not speak with reporters during the flight to Iraq.

Dunford’s spokesman, Navy Captain Greg Hicks, said Kushner was traveling on behalf of Trump to express the president’s support and commitment to Iraq’s government and U.S. personnel helping combat Islamic State.

Trump, who campaigned on defeating Islamic State, has yet to announce any dramatic shift in war strategy.

U.S. ROLE AFTER MOSUL FIGHT

The trip to Iraq comes as Iraqi security forces engage in fierce, house-to-house fighting to retake Mosul, Islamic State’s last major stronghold in Iraq and the city where leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate nearly three years ago.

Nearly 290,000 people have fled the city to escape the fighting, according to the United Nations.

Although the loss of Mosul would deal a major defeat to Islamic State, U.S. and Iraqi officials are preparing for smaller battles even after the city is recaptured and expect the group to go underground to fight as a traditional insurgency.

What happens to the U.S. military role in Iraq after Mosul is recaptured remain unclear.

Influential Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has previously called on Iraq’s government to order the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces after the battle of Mosul is over.

Dunford said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi understood the need for continued U.S. military support.

“It’s not our judgment that the Iraqis will be self sustaining and self sufficient in the wake of Mosul. More importantly, it’s not Prime Minister Abadi’s assessment,” Dunford said.

Across the border in Syria, a U.S.-backed campaign to isolate Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa is advancing ahead of an eventual assault on the city.

U.S.-backed Syrian forces repelled a major counter-attack by Islamic State militants holding out at the country’s largest dam and in the nearby town of Tabqa, the group and activists said on Sunday. The dam is a strategic target in the military campaign, located about 40 km (25 miles) to the east of Raqqa.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Giles Elgood)

U.S.-backed SDF says it can capture Syrian city of Raqqa

A Syrian Democratic Forces fighter watches a convoy of his forces advancing in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. REUTERS/Rodi Said

BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian militias said on Thursday they have enough forces to capture the city of Raqqa from Islamic State with support from the U.S.-led coalition, underlining their opposition to any Turkish role in the attack.

Raqqa is Islamic State’s main base of operations in Syria and the U.S.-backed campaign to capture it has been boosted with the arrival of a Marines artillery unit.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes the Kurdish YPG militia and Arab groups, have in recent days cut the road from the Raqqa to Islamic State’s stronghold in Deir al-Zor province – the last main road out of the city.

Deeply worried by the YPG’s influence, Ankara is pressing Washington to take part in the final assault on Raqqa.

The SDF says it ruled out any Turkish role during meetings with U.S. officials last month, though Turkey said on Thursday no decision had been made yet and the U.S.-led coalition said a possible Turkish role remained a point of discussion.

“The number of our forces is now increasing, particularly from among the people of the area, and we have enough strength to liberate Raqqa with support from the coalition forces,” Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, an SDF spokeswoman, said.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish government.

An SDF spokesman told Reuters on Thursday he expected the forces to reach the outskirts of the city within a few weeks. Its forces began the operation to encircle Raqqa in November.

“We have information that the enemy is moving part of its leadership outside the city, as it is also digging tunnels under the ground. We expect they will fortify the city and the terrorist group will depend on street warfare,” Ahmed said.

The SDF and YPG have been the main partners for Washington in its campaign against Islamic State in Syria. The U.S.-led coalition has been providing air support and deployed special forces in Syria to help in the campaign against Islamic State.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Gareth Jones, Julia Glover)

U.S. adds to forces in Syria to expedite IS defeat in Raqqa: coalition

A U.S. fighter walks down a ladder from a barricade, north of Raqqa city, Syria, November 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) – A U.S. Marines artillery unit has deployed to Syria in recent days to help local forces speed up efforts to defeat Islamic State at Raqqa and the campaign to isolate the city is going “very, very well”, the U.S.-led coalition said on Thursday.

Coalition spokesman U.S. Air Force Colonel John Dorrian said the additional U.S. forces would be working with local partners in Syria – the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Coalition – and would not have a front line role.

The additional deployment comprises a total of 400 U.S. forces – both Marines and Army Rangers. It adds to around 500 U.S. military personnel already in Syria, Dorrian said.

The SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia, is the main U.S. partner in the war against Islamic State insurgents in Syria. Since November it has been working with the U.S.-led coalition to encircle Raqqa, IS’s main urban bastion in Syria.

This week, the SDF cut the road between Raqqa and the jihadists’ stronghold of Deir al-Zor province – the last main road out of the city.

Islamic State is also being fought in Syria by the Russian-backed Syrian military, and by Syrian rebel groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner with Turkish backing in northern Syria and Jordanian backing in southern Syria.

Dorrian said the effort to isolate Raqqa was “going very very well” and could be completed in a few weeks. “Then the decision to move in can be made,” he said.

The additional forces had arrived in “the last few days”, he told Reuters by telephone.

The artillery will help “expedite the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa”, he said, using another acronym for Islamic State. The Marines were armed with 155-millimetre artillery guns. Asked if they had been used yet, Dorrian said he did not believe so.

“We have had what I would describe as a pretty relentless air campaign to destroy enemy capabilities and to kill enemy fighters in that area already. That is something that we are going to continue and intensify with this new capability.”

“We are talking about an additional 400 or so forces in total, and they will be there for a temporary period,” he said.

A Kurdish military source told Reuters the extra U.S. forces were deployed as part of a joint plan between the SDF and U.S.-led coalition to capture Raqqa, and further U.S. reinforcements were expected to arrive in the coming few days.

Dorrian said the Army Rangers were on a different mission to the Marines in a previously announced deployment near the city of Manbij to “create some reassurance” for U.S.-allied Turkey and U.S. partners in Syria – a reference to the SDF.

Turkey views the YPG as a threat to its national security and says the Kurdish militia maintains a presence in Manbij. The YPG denies this. Fearing deepening Kurdish influence in northern Syria, Turkey has been pressing Washington for a role in the final assault on Raqqa.

Dorrian said a possible role for Turkey “remains a point of discussion at military leadership and diplomatic levels”.

“We have always said we are open to a role for Turkey in the liberation of Raqqa and will continue that discussion to whatever logical end there is.”

(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Mark Heinrich)

U.S.-backed Syrian force cuts last road out of Islamic State stronghold

An Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter walks with his weapon in northern Raqqa province, Syria

By Tom Perry and Humeyra Pamuk

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian militias cut the last main road out of Islamic State-held Raqqa on Monday, severing the highway between the group’s de facto capital and its stronghold of Deir al-Zor province, a militia spokesman said.

The development, confirmed by a British-based organization that monitors Syria’s war, marks a major blow against Islamic State, which is under intense military pressure in both Syria and Iraq.

It is losing ground to three separate campaigns in northern Syria – by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, by the Russian-backed Syrian army, and by Turkey and allied Syrian rebels.

“Cutting the road between Raqqa and Deir al-Zor means that practically the encirclement of the Daesh (Islamic State) capital is complete by land,” a Kurdish military source told Reuters, adding that the only remaining way out of the city was south across the Euphrates River.

“It is a big victory but there is still a lot to accomplish,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The SDF is an alliance of militias including the Kurdish YPG and Arab groups. It launched a campaign in November to encircle and ultimately capture Islamic State’s base of operations in Raqqa city, with air strikes and special forces support from a U.S.-led coalition.

Further west, the Syrian army has made its own, rapid progress against Islamic State in the past few weeks, advancing east from Aleppo city toward the Euphrates. The Syrian army last week captured the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State – an operation Russia said it had planned and overseen.

A Syrian military source told Reuters the army would press on to reach the jihadists’ main strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor.

Syrian government forces, meanwhile, have taken over positions from a U.S.-backed militia in the northern city of Manbij on a frontline with Turkish-backed rebel forces, in line with a deal brokered by Russia, the militia’s spokesman said on Monday.

Last week, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Manbij would be the next target in the campaign Turkey is waging alongside Syrian rebels in northern Syria against both Islamic State and the Kurdish YPG militia.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday Ankara was not planning a military campaign without coordinating with the United States and Russia.

The U.S. military has also deployed a small number of forces in and around Manbij to ensure that the different parties in the area do not attack each other, a Pentagon spokesman said.

BRIDGES DESTROYED

Islamic State still controls swathes of Syria, including much of the center and nearly all the eastern province of Deir al-Zor stretching all the way to the Iraqi part of its self-declared caliphate.

The SDF has been the main U.S. partner against Islamic State in Syria. “The road is under the control of the SDF,” spokesman Talal Silo said in a voice message sent to Reuters. “The road between Raqqa and Deir al-Zor.”

There was no immediate word from Islamic State on the social media channels it uses to communicate news.

Air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition have destroyed the bridges across the Euphrates to Raqqa city, the British-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

The Observatory said families brought recently by Islamic State to Raqqa from areas to the west had been forced to cross the river by boat, reflecting the problem facing Islamic State in reaching the city.

In Iraq, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces captured the second of Mosul’s five bridges on Monday, part of a major onslaught that began in October to take back the city lost to Islamic State in 2014.

EYES ON RAQQA

The Syrian army’s advance toward the Euphrates River from Aleppo has added to the pressure on Islamic State.

One of the targets of the army’s advance appears to be to secure the water supply to Aleppo, which is pumped from the village of al-Khafsa on the western bank of the Euphrates.

The Observatory said on Monday the army had advanced to within 8 km (5 miles) of al-Khafsa.

The Syrian army push has also had the effect of deterring further advances south by Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels as they carve out an effective buffer zone near the border in areas seized from Islamic State.

“The army will not stop in its military operations against Daesh, and will certainly reach its most important strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor. This is a national Syrian decision,” the Syrian military source told Reuters.

The source said the army was advancing at a rapid pace and there was “great dysfunction” in Islamic State’s leadership.

Turkey, a NATO member, wants its Syrian rebel allies to lead the Raqqa offensive, and U.S. support for the YPG is a major point of contention between the two states.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Alison Williams)

Turkey sets out Raqqa operation plans to U.S.: report

Syrian Democratic Forces

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has presented two proposals to the United States for how to carry out a joint military operation to drive Islamic State from its stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Saturday.

Turkey has said repeatedly that the planned operation should be conducted by local Arab forces, possibly with support from Turkish troops, as opposed to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) — an alliance dominated by Kurdish YPG militia.

Washington’s support for the SDF, which launched a campaign to encircle Raqqa in November, has caused tension with NATO-ally Turkey. Ankara views the Kurdish militia as an extension of militants fighting on its own soil.

It is not yet clear whether the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump will provide weapons to the YPG despite Turkey’s objections. The U.S. says weapons provided to the SDF are so far limited to its Arab elements but Ankara says the arms are going to Kurdish militia and is asking for a halt.

In a meeting on Friday at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, a key hub for U.S.-led coalition against jihadists, Turkish military chief Hulusi Akar and his U.S. counterpart Joseph Dunford discussed the two Raqqa road maps, Hurriyet said, citing security sources.

Ankara’s preferred plan of action envisages Turkish and U.S. special forces, backed by commandoes and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels entering Syria through the border town of Tel Abyad, currently held by Kurdish YPG militia, the newspaper said.

The forces would effectively cut through YPG territory, before pushing on to Raqqa, which lies about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south.

Such a plan would require the United States to convince the Kurdish militia to grant the Turkey-backed forces a 20-kilometre (12-mile)-wide strip through YPG territory in order to push south, the paper said.

The SDF alliance, which includes Arab and other groups in Syria’s north as well as the YPG, controls swathes of territory along the Syria-Turkey border as they push back Islamic State.

With air strikes and special ground forces from the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF is in the middle of a multi-phased operation to surround Raqqa, Islamic State’s base of operations in Syria.

Hurriyet also said Ankara was betting on securing a Syrian and Arab force of about 9,000 to 10,000 troops for the Raqqa operation, with most coming from among the fighters being trained at two camps inside Turkey.

A second but less likely alternative outlined by Akar to Dunford was to push towards Raqqa via the Syrian town of Bab, Hurriyet reported, which Turkey-backed forces have been fighting to seize from Islamic State for the past two months.

But the long journey of 180 kilometres (about 110 miles) and mountainous terrain make that possibility less likely, it said.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Helen Popper)

Turkey says U.S. not insisting on Kurdish role in Raqqa operation

Syrian Forces

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s defense minister said on Thursday the new U.S. administration has a more flexible approach to Syria and is not insisting on the Kurdish YPG militia being involved in the operation to drive Islamic State from its Raqqa stronghold.

U.S. support for the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance dominated by the YPG, has caused tensions with NATO ally Turkey, which views the Kurdish militia as an extension of militants fighting on its own soil.

“If we want the Raqqa operation to be successful, then it should be carried out with Arab forces in the region and not the YPG,” Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik told reporters in Brussels.

“The new U.S. administration has a different approach to the issue. They are not insisting anymore that the operation should definitely be carried out with the YPG. They haven’t yet made up their minds,” he said in comments broadcast live.

The SDF alliance, which includes Arab and other groups in Syria’s north as well as the YPG, has taken territory along the Syria-Turkey border as they push back Islamic State.

With air strikes and special ground forces from the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF is in the middle of a multi-phased operation to encircle Raqqa, Islamic State’s base of operations in Syria.

A key decision for the Trump administration will be whether to provide weapons to the YPG despite Turkish objections. The U.S. says weapons provided to the SDF are so far limited to its Arab elements.

“We are working with the U.S. on the withdrawal of the YPG from Manbij by the time the al-Bab operation is completed,” Isik said, referring to a town currently under SDF control.

Isik added that Turkey’s priority after al-Bab would be advancing towards Manbij and Raqqa. He also said U.S. chief of staff Joseph Dunford would visit Turkey on Friday.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall)

Syrian groups see more U.S. support for IS fight, plan new phase

People work to clean damaged Aleppo

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) – A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian militias said on Tuesday it saw signs of increased U.S. support for their campaign against Islamic State with President Donald Trump in office, a shift that would heighten Turkish worries over Kurdish power in Syria.

A Kurdish military source told Reuters separately the next phase of a campaign by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance — which includes the Kurdish YPG militia — aimed to cut the last remaining routes to Islamic State’s stronghold of Raqqa city, including the road to Deir al-Zor.

The YPG has been the main partner on the ground in Syria for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, fighting as part of the SDF that has driven Islamic State from swathes of northern Syria with the coalition’s air support.

The YPG also has links to a Kurdish party, the PKK, designated by Turkey as a terrorist group.

It forms the military backbone of autonomous regions that have been set up by Kurdish groups and their allies in northern Syria since the onset of the war in 2011, alarming Turkey where a Kurdish minority lives just over the border. The main Syrian Kurdish groups say their aim is autonomy, not independence.

SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters the U.S.-led coalition supplied the SDF with armored vehicles for the first time four or five days ago. Although the number was small, Silo called it a significant shift in support. He declined to give an exact number.

“Previously we didn’t get support in this form, we would get light weapons and ammunition,” he said. “There are signs of full support from the new American leadership — more than before — for our forces.”

He said the vehicles would be deployed in the campaign against Islamic State which has since November focused on Raqqa city, Islamic State’s base of operations in central Syria.

The first two phases of the offensive focused on capturing areas to the north and west of Raqqa, part of a strategy to encircle the city.

The third phase would focus on capturing remaining areas, including the road between Raqqa city and Deir al-Zor, the Kurdish military source said.

IS holds nearly all of Deir al-Zor province, where it has been fighting hard in recent weeks to try to capture the last remaining pockets of Syrian government-held territory in Deir al-Zor city.

Cutting off Raqqa city from IS strongholds in Deir al-Zor would be a major blow against the group.

“The coming phase of the campaign aims to isolate Raqqa completely,” said the Kurdish military source, who declined to be named. “Accomplishing this requires reaching the Raqqa-Deir al-Zor road,” the source said.

“This mission will be difficult.”

Silo of the SDF said preparations were underway for “new action” against IS starting in “a few days”, but declined to give further details.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Sonya Hepinstall)

Islamic State deploys car bombs in new Syria battle

A U.S. fighter walks down a ladder from a barricade, north of Raqqa city, Syria

BEIRUT, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Islamic State militants have set off five car bombs targeting U.S.-backed Syrian armed groups
attacking Raqqa, a Kurdish source said on Monday, saying the fight to drive IS from its stronghold city would “not be easy.”

The operation by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including the Kurdish YPG militia, that began on Saturday aims
to encircle and ultimately capture Raqqa, adding to the pressure on IS as it faces a major assault in Iraq.

Islamic State has also drawn heavily on suicide car bombs in its efforts to fend off the assault on Mosul by Iraqi forces.

The Kurdish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S.-led coalition was providing “excellent” air support for the operation dubbed “Euphrates Anger.”

“It is difficult to … put a time frame on the operation at present. The battle will not be easy,” the source said.

The attack so far appears focused on areas north of Raqqa near the town of Ain Issa, 50 km (30 miles) away. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, an organization that reports on the war, said the SDF forces had so far captured a number of IS positions, but there had been “no real progress.”

The Kurdish source said a number of villages had been captured. “Daesh is resorting to attacks with car bombs to a
great degree,” the source said.

The SDF has been the main partner on the ground in Syria for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, capturing swathes of northern Syria with coalition air support.

Planning for the Raqqa assault has been complicated by factors including the concerns of neighboring Turkey, which
does not want to see any further expansion of Kurdish influence in northern Syria.

Additionally, Raqqa is a predominantly Arab city, and Syrian Kurdish officials have previously said it should be freed from IS by Syrian Arab groups, not the Kurdish YPG.

A U.S. official told Reuters in Washington there was “no available force capable of taking Raqqa in the near future,” and U.S. officials cautioned the process of sealing off and isolating the city could take two months or longer.

(Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Tom Heneghan)