Report: U.S.-backed forces launch operation against ISIS in northern Syria

Syrian Democratic forces train in Syria.
(Image credit: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian forces backed by the United States launched an offensive on Tuesday to capture what one U.S. official called the Islamic State's "last remaining funnel" to Europe, Reuters reports.

The area of northern Syria known as the Manbij pocket has been used by ISIS to move foreign fighters back and forth to Europe, and a goal of the operation is to isolate ISIS and cut off the supply line to its de facto capital, Raqqa. Thousands of fighters have been preparing for the offensive for weeks, U.S. officials told Reuters, and while some U.S. special operations forces will serve as advisers and offer support on the ground, they will not engage in direct combat. The operation will also involve airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition and firing positions from the ground in Turkey.

The forces are mostly composed of Syrian Arabs, with about one-sixth of them members of the Kurdish YPG militia, officials said. Turkey views Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters as terrorists, and opposed the idea of the militia taking control of the Manbij pocket, Reuters reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.