Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the Deir al-Zor military council which fights under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during a press conference in the village of Abu Fas, Hasaka province, Syria. (Rodi Said/Reuters)U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced a fresh offensive around the Islamic State’s most important remaining stronghold Saturday, accelerating a global scramble for control of the country’s oil-rich east. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated militia supported by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, said Saturday that they would clear the Islamist militants from territory east of the Euphrates River. Government forces backed by Russian warplanes and Lebanese militia reached Deir al-Zour city this week, lifting an almost three-year Islamic State siege and boosting President Bashar al-Assad’s argument that his forces should retake the country’s final Islamic State-held pockets. A foothold in Deir al-Zour province would provide Washington with an opportunity to block Iranian expansionism in a strategically important area along the Iraqi border.

Source: Washington Post September 09, 2017 15:13 UTC