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The US-led coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will launch a military operation to clear the ISIS-held pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the upcoming hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on September 9.
The UK-based observation group said that the SDF deployed more than 180 vehicles and hundreds of fighters in several positions around the terrorist group’s pocket during the last few hours. Furthermore, three convoys of the coalition, carrying engineering vehicles and artillery pieces, arrived in a nearby field base.
In the last few days, US-led coalition warplanes and artillery struck most of the remaining positions of ISIS on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Local sources said that at least 14 women and children were killed in these strikes.
Local observers believe that more than 1,000 ISIS fighters are currently hiding in the pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. These fighters are highly-experienced and well-armed. This means that they will pose a serious challenge to the US-led coalition and its proxies.
