Kurdish soldiers launch an offensive against the jihadists

Three days after a deadly attack in northern Syria on Thursday, local Kurdish forces announced they had launched an offensive against the Islamic State (IS), in cooperation with the international coalition led by the United States.

On Monday, Kurdish fighters had already declared a state of emergency following an attack claimed by IS against their headquarters in Raqqa which had killed six of their comrades.

Operation name: “Al-Jazeera Lightning”

“On December 29, our forces, with the participation (…) of the international coalition against ISIS, launched the “al-Jazeera flash” operation,” the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement. Kurdish-dominated fighter alliance).

This aims to “eliminate IS terrorist cells (…) and drive them out of areas that have been the scene of recent terrorist attacks”, indicate the FDS.

The Kurdish forces recall in particular the attack on Monday against the headquarters of the Kurdish forces in Raqqa, the perpetrators of which, however, failed to release jihadists from prison. They also mention “eight attempted attacks (…) against the al-Hol (displaced) camp and in areas in Deir Ezzor and Hassaké”, in the North-East.

Supported by the international coalition, the SDF spearheaded the fight against IS, driven from its strongholds in Syria in 2019, after a meteoric rise in power in 2014 and the conquest of vast territories in this country and in the world. neighboring Iraq. But despite the loss of its strongholds in these two countries, the group continues to carry out attacks there.

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