ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US-led coalition airstrikes and a ground offensive by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed 35 ISIS fighters in eastern Syrian on Saturday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Coalition airstrikes around the town of Hajin killed 28 ISIS militants, according to the monitor. A further seven jihadists were killed by the SDF.
The coalition-backed offensive was launched on September 10 to clear the last remnants of ISIS from the Euphrates River Valley.
Since the offensive began, 414 ISIS militants and 227 SDF fighters have been killed, the monitor reports.
At least 41 civilians, 10 of them children, were killed in coalition airstrikes on ISIS targets on Thursday and Friday.
ISIS is putting up a desperate attempt to repel the SDF in the Hajin area, the last pocket of territory it controls in eastern Syria, amid multiple recent setbacks for the Kurdish-led forces.
The SDF reported on Friday it had killed 15 militants in the last 24 hours and repulsed several attacks on its positions, backed by coalition airstrikes.
The monitor said the SDF brought in special forces reinforcements after ISIS managed to regain some territory earlier this week.
A Kurdish commander said this week that the fight against ISIS is taking “longer than expected,” because of weather conditions and the concentration of hardcore jihadists with years of fighting experience.
The SDF has suffered a number of recent reported setbacks. More than 70 SDF fighters were killed by ISIS last week, according to the Observatory.
An SDF commander and a local council chief were assassinated in eastern Deir ez-Zor by unidentified men on a motorcycle, the Observatory reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news service reported that six Kurdish fighters were killed and 15 seriously injured in a US airstrike.
They were hit while preparing to launch an attack on an ISIS position in the Hajin area, RIA reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic military source.
The coalition said it is investigating the reports of a possible friendly fire incident in answer to a query from Rudaw English.
“The SDF is a partner in the effort to defeat ISIS, and we will continue to support them as they liberate the last stronghold of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley,” said coalition spokesperson Col. Sean Ryan.
Coalition airstrikes around the town of Hajin killed 28 ISIS militants, according to the monitor. A further seven jihadists were killed by the SDF.
The coalition-backed offensive was launched on September 10 to clear the last remnants of ISIS from the Euphrates River Valley.
Since the offensive began, 414 ISIS militants and 227 SDF fighters have been killed, the monitor reports.
At least 41 civilians, 10 of them children, were killed in coalition airstrikes on ISIS targets on Thursday and Friday.
ISIS is putting up a desperate attempt to repel the SDF in the Hajin area, the last pocket of territory it controls in eastern Syria, amid multiple recent setbacks for the Kurdish-led forces.
The SDF reported on Friday it had killed 15 militants in the last 24 hours and repulsed several attacks on its positions, backed by coalition airstrikes.
The monitor said the SDF brought in special forces reinforcements after ISIS managed to regain some territory earlier this week.
A Kurdish commander said this week that the fight against ISIS is taking “longer than expected,” because of weather conditions and the concentration of hardcore jihadists with years of fighting experience.
The SDF has suffered a number of recent reported setbacks. More than 70 SDF fighters were killed by ISIS last week, according to the Observatory.
An SDF commander and a local council chief were assassinated in eastern Deir ez-Zor by unidentified men on a motorcycle, the Observatory reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news service reported that six Kurdish fighters were killed and 15 seriously injured in a US airstrike.
They were hit while preparing to launch an attack on an ISIS position in the Hajin area, RIA reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic military source.
The coalition said it is investigating the reports of a possible friendly fire incident in answer to a query from Rudaw English.
“The SDF is a partner in the effort to defeat ISIS, and we will continue to support them as they liberate the last stronghold of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley,” said coalition spokesperson Col. Sean Ryan.
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