A screenshot from the SDF video
Soon after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared the capture of Tabqa Dam (or at least a major part of it), the SDF press center published a video showing the mobilization of its fighters in the eastern countryside of Raqqa a few kilometers from the 17th Reserve Division HQ.
In another video, the SDF called Deir Ezzor residents presented in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, and in Turkey to enlist in the anti-ISIS coalition to liberate their city. The commander of the Deir Ezzor military council pledged to offer all needed weapons and specialized training to the recruits native to the city located at the Euphrates.
The offensive on Deir Ezzor is not expected to launch soon as the SDF currently focuses on Tabqa and Raqqa, but the statement shows that the US-led coalition has some plan of possible operation in this city.
US-led forces may attack the eastern districts of Raqqa and Tabqa simultaneously to engage the terrorist group’s force on several axes. The ISIS manpower is already depleted and overstretched. The group continues to redeploy fighters from frontlines at eastern Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, and Palmyra to defend its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqah
The SDF advance on Raqqa’s eastern suburbs will de-facto mark the start of the full-scale operation to retake the city from ISIS.
