Daesh besieged in its last bastion
beirut — The Daesh group is “completely besieged” in its last major stronghold in Syria’s Aleppo province, a monitor said on Monday, as pro-regime forces piled pressure on the militants on several fronts.
Daesh fighters were cut off in Al Bab after forces loyal to the government of President Bashar Al Assad severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
“Al Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west,” said the Britain-based monitor.
It came after “the regime’s forces and allied militia seized the only and last main road used by the militants between Al Bab and Raqa,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told.
Regime forces were backed by fighters from Lebanese movement Hezbollah and by Russian artillery, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports.
The town of Al Bab, 25 kilometres south of the border with Turkey, is seen as a prize by nearly all sides in the complex war.
Since December, Turkey-backed rebel fighters known as the Euphrates Shield alliance have edged towards Al Bab from the north.
In January, Turkey’s air force began carrying out joint bombing raids around Al Bab with Assad’s ally Russia.
The two parties back opposing sides in the war but have joined forces in recent months to try to bring an end to the conflict.
Assad’s regime has refocused on Daesh since fully recapturing Aleppo city in December, in the biggest blow to rebel forces fighting to topple his regime for nearly six years.
Daesh is among several militant movements that have shot to prominence during the conflict, which has left more than 310,000 people dead and has forced millions more from their homes.
Assad’s forces were also locked in fighting with Daesh in the cen-
The regime’s forces and allied militia seized the only and last main road used by the militants between al bab and raqa Rami Abdel Rahman, chief of Syrian Observatory for rights
tral province of Homs at the weekend, the Observatory said. It reported that the troops had captured the Hayyan oilfield west of the celebrated desert city of Palmyra.
They also fought back against Daesh around Al Seen military airport northeast of Damascus, said the monitoring group.
Daesh is facing simultaneous offensives in Syria and Iraq against its self-proclaimed “caliphate”.
On Saturday, US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters announced a new phase in their campaign to capture Raqa, but said they needed more weapons to win. The Syrian Democratic Forces launched their offensive for the key militant stronghold in November and have taken some ground further up the Euphrates Valley but are still some distance away.
SDF fighters have received training and air support from the USled coalition against Daesh. Last week Washington said it had provided them with armoured sports utility vehicles for the first time. US President Donald Trump was due to visit US Central Command on Monday, meeting officers who will spearhead his new strategy to defeat Daesh.
The military command plays a key role in Operation Inherent Resolve — the United States-led mission to “degrade and defeat” Daesh. —