The Syrian military continued to advance into the northern province of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State (IS) group, just days after crossing the administrative borders of that troublesome area under Russian air support.
Government forces are now only 40 km from the key airbase of al-Tabaqa in a town under the same name in the southern countryside of al-Raqqa, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.
The military has been trying to cut the IS supply route between al-Raqqa and the northern province of Aleppo, and al-Tabaqa and its airbase are one of the primary goals for that effort.
The latest military offensive started last week from the town of Athraya in the countryside of the central province of Hama.
In a bid to slow down the military advance, the IS started a counter offensive near Athraya on Monday, but their attack was rendered flat and huge losses were inflicted upon them, a military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The IS militant group has become in the eye of the tornado recently, with the Syrian army closing in from the south of al-Raqqa, while the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led rebel alliance, is advancing in the northern countryside of al-Raqqa, and closing in on the city of Manbej, another IS stronghold on the Turkish borders.
Analysts in Syria believe that there is an undeclared understanding between Washington and Moscow to quell the momentum of the terror group and isolate it, especially when the group is suffering in neighboring Iraq, under the broad offensive of the Iraqi forces on the Iraqi city of Falluja.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said intense battles are still raging near Manbej, as part of the SDF effort to storm the city from three directions, after capturing over 48 villages and farmlands in the city's countryside.
The seven-day battles near Manbej have so far killed 107 people, including 25 civilians, and the rest is divided between the IS and the SDF fighters, said the London-based watchdog group.
It added that SDF forces are now 4 km from the southern gates of the city, 7-10 km from its east, and 10-15 km from its north.
The advance of the Kurdish forces in northern Syria near the Turkish borders have apparently raised the ire of Turkey, which deems any strong Kurdish presence near its borders as a threat.
The Turkish leadership has repeatedly warned against the advance of Kurdish forces in northern Syria, but at the same time, it didn't want to involve in a military offensive directly against the Kurds, who are largely backed by the U.S., one of Ankara's key allies.
On Monday, the Observatory said Turkish forces infiltrated the borders with Syria into the town of Jatel, starting to build a wall in that area to separate the borders, in what appeared to be a precautionary Turkish step to protect its borders from the violence next door. (Xinhua)
