An estimated 300 Kurdish fighters from the US-backed faction the
Syrian Democratic Forces, a group dominated by the YPG, have launched
an offensive on Saturday against the last two ISIS-held towns in eastern
Syria.
By Sunday, the Kurds were claiming substantial progress, and claimed ISIS are “living in their final moments”
in their last territory along the Syria-Iraq border. A US spokesman
said progress was made, but that the fight “is not over yet.”
This is not, of course, the first time the Kurdish forces attacked
either of the remaining ISIS-held towns. Indeed, ISIS has lost those
towns several times recently, only to recover them in counter-offensives
in the days that followed.
Kurdish leaders predicting this to be the final moments of the fight is
different, however. Yet it is unclear if the Kurds believe this
offensive is different from all of those in recent months, or if they
are just changing their talking points in the face of recent US promises
to protect the YPG from Turkey.