Operation Roundup, which began in May this year, has sought to eliminate ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where approximately 2,000 militants are thought to remain. Iraqi forces meanwhile are trying to prevent ISIS fighters retreating over the border from Syria.
In the latter half of November, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several serious operational setbacks, including the death of around 50 SDF fighters and the possible capture of 20 more in ISIS counterattacks around Hajin.
The war monitor also reported a high number of civilian casualties – mostly the wives and children of ISIS militants – resulting from Coalition airstrikes. The UN has raised alarm for the safety of some 10,000 civilians thought to be trapped in the ISIS enclave.
ISIS was reportedly exploiting recent sandstorms and overcast conditions to maneuver undetected, bring the SDF operation to an effective standstill. The operation was also stalled in early November after Turkey shelled SDF positions near its border with Syria.
“This past week, not only did we swiftly and persistently deny ISIS’s desperate attempts to capitalize on inclement weather, we denied them any chance of recovering their equipment and we prevented them from having any success in launching a counterattack,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve Commanding General, said in a statement Tuesday.
“As we degrade their capabilities and push them into an ever smaller box, ISIS continues to employ more and more desperate measures. These tactics won’t succeed,” he added.
Between November 24 and 30, at least “ten command and control centers, 16 weapons caches, eight fighting positions, and six staging facilities” were destroyed in strikes, the Coalition said.
