ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) retook nine neighborhoods from ISIS fighters in Tabqa on Sunday and Monday, giving the international anti-ISIS partnered ground forces control of much of the city.
“In the last 48 hours, the ISIS defense lines have been destroyed, and [we] were able to liberate nine districts,” Abdulqadir Hafidli, SDF commander told the local Hawar News Agency Monday afternoon, making reference to six districts liberated on Sunday, and three more on Monday.
SDF and ISIS continue “strong clashes” in three neighborhoods of Salam, Hissou, and bu-Isa, and in the industrial area of Herema Sinaa, according to the SDF statement released on Monday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights wrote on Monday that Wrath of the Euphrates forces “have completely controlled about 80 percent of Al-Tabqa city’s area.”
“The ISIS militants are besieged in the last three districts in the city, and the Euphrates Dam,” Hafidli said, adding that the SDF will declare the city liberated “very soon.”
ISIS maintains pockets of resistance in the northwest along Lake Assad and southern parts of the Euphrates Dam between the lake and the Euphrates River.
The SDF fighters also repelled an ISIS attack from the city’s south and east on Sunday, the commander noted.
“These people are fighting very hard against a very deadly and dangerous enemy in Tabqa this very day,” Col. John Dorrian, the US-led Coalition spokesperson told Rudaw on Sunday evening, “and they are making excellent progress even despite the security incidents of a few days ago [referring to Turkish airstrikes killing US-partnered forces on April 25].”
The fourth phase of the SDF’s Wrath of the Euphrates operation began on April 13. It aims to secure Tabqa city and Tabqa Dam, allowing forces to focus on their contributions in retaking ISIS’ de-facto capital of Raqqa.
“Right around half of Tabqa’s city is liberated from ISIS already, and this is something we plan to continue. Once that isolation around Raqqa is complete, then conditions will be set so that the city can be liberated,” Dorrian said.
The SDF is comprised of the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC). It is supported by Coalition air and artillery strikes. The Coalition announced 14 strikes against ISIS “near Tabqa” on Sunday and six on Saturday, accounting for half of the Coalition’s reported strikes in Syria in that time span.
“We have provided our weapons to the Syrian Arab Coalition. That’s the only one that we’ve provided weapons to,” Dorian said. “We’ve provided small weapons [to the SAC], and this has been a very effective strategy in fighting ISIS. This force has liberated more than 8,000 square-kilometers in the countryside that surrounds Raqqa."
Talal Silo, the SDF’s spokesperson, has said in a press conference on April 18 that administration of Raqqa will be handed over to the Raqqa Civic Assembly.
