The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed up by the US-led coalition’s artillery units, warplanes and military advisors, have been developing an advance against ISIS terrorists in the southwestern countryside of Raqqah.
Recently, the SDF recaptured the village of Abbad from ISIS. The village is located east of the ISIS-held town of Tabqa and does not have a strategic value. However, this move shows that the SDF could choose to avoid storming Tabqa in the next days. In turn, the US-backed force will develop the advance in the direction of the crossroad town of al-Mansurah.
Tabqa and the Tabqa dam are important ISIS defense sites in the western countryside of Raqqah. However, while they are isolated, the terrorist group cannot use them actively to influence the SDF advance south of the ISIS self-proclaimed capital.
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