ISIS deals major defeat to US-backed forces in Syria

US-backed Syrian forces have suffered a major defeat at the hands of ISIS terrorists in Syria ’s Deir ez-Zour province following a series of intense clashes along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

Over the last fortnight, ISIS militants have launched a number of raids and general counter-attacks under the cover of dust storms that have gradually chipped away at the positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the Euphrates.

A few days ago, the erosion of SDF defenses reached breaking point with ISIS managing to reclaim a number of key villages that they recently lost including Barghuz Al-Fawqani, sending US-backed fighters into a head-long retreat.

By attacking under the cover of sandstorms, ISIS has managed to negate US airpower and sneak up to within almost point-blank range of SDF positions before being detected.

The last two weeks has seen the SDF suffer up to as many as 200 dead and several dozen captured (now likely also dead). Most of the SDF units that bore the brunt of the attack appear to have been part of the multiethnic group’s Arab contingent.

Better equipped and trained Kurdish SDF formations of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Anti-Terror Units (YAT) originally stationed further to the north have reportedly been moved towards the combat zone to contain the situation.

Mostly confirmed reports have emerged stating that Iraqi forces have relocated heavy weapons (i.e. tanks and armored vehicles) and special forces towards the country’s border with Syria opposite the village of Barghuz Al-Tatani; whether the SDF or ISIS is in control of the village is currently unknown, with some unconfirmed reports claiming that it is a No Man’s Land area.

This defeat for US-backed forces comes despite the fact the SDF, technically on the offense, was meant to be in the third phase of its ‘Al-Jazeera Storm’ operation, aimed at completely liberating the last ISIS-held villages along the eastern shore of the Euphrates in Syria.

Speaking through the Kurdish media outlet ANF News, an SDF spokesperson claimed that the US-backed group would continue its offensive against ISIS until the terrorist organization’s final defeat.

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