Battle to Stamp Out ISIS in Syria Gains New Momentum, but Threats Remain
An American-backed ground offensive to wipe out the last pockets of Islamic State fighters in eastern Syria has been reignited over the past month in an attempt to beat back the militants’ ability to wage guerrilla attacks.
The mission against the Islamic State has been invigorated by the return of top Kurdish commanders, a surge in French commandos, the arrival of Navy fighter jets and some secret sleuthing by Iraqi spies.
A force of allied Kurds and Arabs in Syria’s east has served as the United States’ most effective battleground ally against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. But a spate of Turkish attacks last winter against other Kurds, in northwest Syria, prompted the Kurdish fighters to peel away from the American-led assault near the Iraqi border.