‘Last Pocket of ISIS' Fighters Along Syria-Iraq Border Surrounded, DoD Official Says by Kyle Rempfer - Military Times
U.S. troops and their local partner forces have surrounded what has been called the “last pocket of ISIS resistance,” according to military officials involved in the campaign.
The final push, known as Operation Roundup, is in its third week. It is occurring in the Middle Euphrates River Valley’s Deir ez-Zor province, close to the Iraq-Syria border.
Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition’s fire support, have dialed back the Islamic State precipitously over the past few years.
“As ISIS retreats, they’re employing improvised explosive devices along routes and booby-trapping houses to inflict casualties as the SDF fighters clear through the terrain," Col. Sean Ryan, Operation Inherent Resolve’s spokesman, told reporters Tuesday.
"Additionally, last week ISIS fired a barrage of indirect mortar fire near coalition and partner forces in a likely attempt to distract SDF’s operations in the southern portion of the [Middle Euphrates River Valley],” Ryan added…