U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters are beginning to return to the front lines of the fight against the Islamic State in eastern Syria, now that Turkey’s offensive against the Kurds in the west has eased, a U.S. military spokesman said.
“I’m not going to, you know, say exactly where these fighters are coming from,” Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters Tuesday. “All I’ll say is that, you know, we are starting to see more fighters starting to return to the Middle Euphrates River Valley.”
ISIS controls two areas in Syria east of the Euphrates River. One is in and around town of Hajin, which is along the river, and the other is near Dashisha, near the Syria-Iraq border.
The Turkish offensive aimed at driving the Kurds in northwest Syria away from its border pulled many Kurds away from the ISIS fight to defend their home areas, and forced the U.S. into an “operational pause” in February and March.
To keep ISIS from regaining ground, the U.S.-backed fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, dug defensive positions and constructed obstacles while the U.S.-led coalition doubled the number of airstrikes directed against ISIS targets in the two areas.
The U.S. says the SDF has been limited in its ability to conduct offensive operations, but the return of some fighters means once again ISIS forces will be under assault.
“We start to see more Syrian Democratic Force fighters coming back, then that pressure on ISIS on the ground … definitely will help in the eradicating these final two locations,” Dillon said.
U.S. military officials have given no timeline for the final defeat of ISIS, but Pentagon sources say they think within six months ISIS may no longer hold any ground, although many ISIS fighters will still remain in Syria.
