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On January 27, the remaining ISIS fighters in the middle Euphrates River Valley launched a new counter-attack against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in an attempt to recapture some of the areas they had lost in the last few days.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that 4 suicide bombers wearing explosive vests and driving vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) led the counter-attack. However, the terrorist group failed to recapture any position.
According to the UK-based monitoring group, 24 ISIS fighters and commanders were killed in the failed counter-attack. The SDF also lost 11 personnel.
Earlier, a senior Iraqi source told the al-Arabi al-Jadeed outlet that the US-led coalition has slowed down its operation in the Euphrates Valley and deployed special forces there in order to hunt ISIS leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who is reportedly hiding in the region.
The source himself doubted that the US-led coalition will manage to capture the infamous terrorist alive because he will likely resist and may even blow himself up.
