While the Kurdish YPG continues to tout the progress they are making against ISIS, the jihadists have managed to get around to carrying out a retaliatory strike of their own, hitting YPG targets east of the city of Raqqa, sparking a long gunbattle and causing a number of casualties.
The exact death toll is a matter of considerable dispute. ISIS claimed 53 YPG were killed, and the Syrian Observatory said a number were killed and injured, but weren’t specific. The YPG insists the ISIS statement was false, but didn’t offer alternative numbers.
The target was a pair of armored personnel carriers and the troops along with them. They were traveling through territory presently held by the YPG, but which was ISIS territory only months ago, taken in the course of the advance on Raqqa.
This is a common strategy for ISIS when they face pressure, carrying out a counter-offensive to try to put the invading force off-balance. Reports of substantial casualties, and even unconfirmed reports ISIS captured some Kurds in this action are likely to succeed in reducing YPG morale.
Within Syria, give the Kurds a state or a small Republic,
but stop at all costs any partitioning that Israel USA may
try to impose.
I think that the key problem for US strategy in fighting ISIS has not been resolved. US military is still pursuing the fight using Kurds and a tiny number of Arabs to mask the Kurdish nature of the US supported ground forces. This essentially was Hillary Clinton plan — a plan that was meant to fail.
Kurdish forces are not sufficient to liberate Raqqa region, as most of towns and villages are not Kurdish majority. Even if they liberate Raqqa — they cannot hold it and provide security. The plan was set up to fail and draw in US forces with various mercenaries trained in Jordan. As it stands now, ISIS is military target. And if Kurds cannot deliver, will Trump get into nation- building? There is a mission gap, and unless Trump allows Syriam military to kick ISIS out and establishes control of Iraqi border, who will? It is a messy situation,
Sounds like the author is really against ISIS.