Syrian Defence Forces launched assault on ISIS terrorists in Hajin in east Syria

Syrian Defence Forces launched assault on ISIS terrorists in Hajin in east Syria

The Coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched a fierce assault against a dwindling pocket of territory held by Islamic State around Hajin in east Syria, a commander told AFP.

The SDF have been closing in for months on the town of Hajin in eastern Deir Ezzor province, and on Monday, September 10, they began an offensive against the town.

An SDF commander said the assault, relying heavily on artillery and U.S.-led Coalition air strikes, had killed at least 15 ISIS fighters.

“Our forces today began attacking the last bastions of Daesh in Hajin, with intense artillery and air support,” said the SDF commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity and used an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

“The clashes will be fierce in Hajin because Daesh has reinforced their positions, but we will take control of it,” the commander told AFP.

An SDF source told The Defense Post that an official announcement was imminent.

ISIS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014 across swathes of Syria and Iraq, but various separate offensives by the national armies of both countries, Kurdish forces and international backers have seen the jihadists’ territory shrink dramatically.

In Syria, ISIS controls a small area of Deir Ezzor as well as some territory in the south.

The SDF, founded in October 2015, has been backed by Coalition air and artillery strikes, and special forces advisers. The SDF includes includes Kurdish, Arab and other fighters.

It ousted ISIS from swathes of Syria’s north last year, including from their main bastion Raqqa.

In Deir Ezzor, the SDF is battling ISIS on the eastern side of the Euphrates River while Syrian regime troops backed by Russia battle them west of the river.

In July, a Coalition official said a few hundred ISIS fighters remain in the eastern pocket.

In a purported new audio recording released on August 22, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi remained defiant.

“The caliphate will remain … and is not confined to Hajin,” he said.

Source: TDP