On June 22, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumed its advance towards the Syrian-Iraqi border and captured the villages of Zibah, Bi’r al-Butah and al-Sayibah in the southeastern al-Hasakah countryside, according to Kurdish sources.
Some Kurdish activists claimed that the SDF reached the Syrian-Iraqi border after liberating the three villages from ISIS. According to the activists, the SDF is currently clearing the desert area north of the villages. However, these claims are yet to be confirmed by the SDF’s media center.
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On June 3, the US-led coalition launched a military operation against the remaining ISIS fighters in the town of Dashisha in the southern al-Hasakah countryside. By June 17, coalition forces had achieved their goals and had captured the town, which is located only 8km away from the Syrian-Iraqi border.
The US-led coalition will likely launch a similar military operation in the upcoming weeks to clear several areas in the southern al-Hasakah countryside and southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside from the remaining cells of ISIS. These cells have launched dozens of cross border attacks on the Iraqi military since the beginning of this year.
