Islamic State counter-attacks kill 47 US-backed fighters in east Syria, war monitor says
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says jihadists launched three separate attacks on Saturday
Counter-attacks by the Islamic State group have killed at least 47 US-backed fighters over two days as the jihadists struck from their embattled holdout in eastern Syria, a war monitor said Saturday.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish-led alliance supported by a US-led coalition is battling to expel the jihadists from a pocket in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on the Iraqi border.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the jihadists launched “three separate assaults” on Saturday.
The monitor said the counter-attacks targeted the villages of Al-Bahra and Gharanij and an area close to the Al-Tanak oilfield, which is commercially active but is also an SDF military position.
SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali confirmed “a series of attacks” led by IS in these three locations and said fighting had taken place all day, with the Kurdish-led ground forces receiving coalition air support.