The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led military coalition, on Sunday began a major offensive against the last enclave of Islamic State (ISIS) in eastern Syria, reportedTurkish news site Duvar.
The SDF announced late Sunday that they had launched their “final operation” against ISIS, aiming to retake the last bit of territory held by the jihadi group that once controlled one-third of Iraq and Syria.
Last week, the SDF slowed down military action in the Baghouz village for negotiations with the last fighters inside and evacuation of civilians. The fighting resumed after a deadline for ISIS to surrender expired.
The offensive began with an exchange of fire between ISIS militants and SDF forces, according to a spokesman for the SDF Mustafa Bali. Last December, U.S. President Donald Trump made an abrupt announcement that U.S. troops would withdraw from Syria, adding that ISIS had been defeated in the country.
On Feb. 22, the Pentagon said that the United States would leave around 400 soldiers in Syria: 200 in the Kurdish-controlled northeast and another 200 at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria.
In January, Trump gave Turkey the green light to set up a 500-km long, 32-km wide safe zone in an area of Syria that is mainly under the control of Kurdish forces. But recently, Washington has been negotiating with European countries to help establish the buffer zone.
While the United States considers the SDF a vital ally in the fight against ISIS, Turkey views the group as affiliates of the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an armed group that has battled for autonomy in southeast Turkey for more than three decades.