Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Army Col. Sean Ryan provides an operational update to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room, Washington, D.C. (DoD photo)
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Last updated on Wednesday, August 15, 2018
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS continues preparations for its final assault against the terrorists in Syria, with the launch of offensive action to “begin very soon,” military officials said Tuesday.
Anti-ISIS forces "are not taking our foot off the gas," Col. Sean Ryan, a spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve, told Pentagon reporters via telelink from Baghdad.
Tom Squitieri, of Talk Media News reports, a final push to route, capture or kill the remaining 1,000 ISIS forces in Syria -- phase three of "Operation Roundup" -- has been promised for weeks. U.K. Army Maj. Gen. Felix Gedney, deputy commander, strategy and support, said operational details on when that last phase actually gets underway will be released only after action has begun.
Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Army Col. Sean Ryan provides an operational update to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room, Washington, D.C. (DoD photo)
Ryan said there is "a constant stream of civilians fleeing the town ahead of the operations" and the the Syrian Democratic Forces have established checkpoints to ensure no ISIS members slip out posing as civilians. "Some ISIS have been caught," Ryan said, via telelink from Baghdad.
The final thrust against ISIS is the city of Abu Kamal and its surroundings, tucked along the Euphrates River in a corner border nub aside Iraq.
Both Ryan and Gedney said the number of remaining ISIS in Syria is around 1,000 -- the same number offered since February. That is despite what military officials have said was the successful phase one and phase two of Operation Roundup, which cleared at least two parts of Syria of ISIS elements.
Yet despite those successes against ISIS, Gedney could not say why the number of ISIS elements has not dropped. He denied the terrorists were being replenished.
"We will find out (how many ISIS remain) when we get there and we will deal with it all," Gedney told Pentagon reporters. "There is some movement of (ISIS) fighters through historic smuggling routes, which is why the Iraqi security forces have taken to secure the border."
He demurred when asked about a United Nations' report that said the number of ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq is 20,000 to 30,000.
"Numbers are always very difficult," Gedney said. "That number seems a little bit high. I would need to look at the methodology that it was based upon."
Gender said the SDF and others hold roughly 600 captured terrorists from around 40 different countries. He declined to give country-specific numbers. He said local forces are being trained as guards and detention centers are being constructed.
Between Aug. 6-12, coalition military forces conducted 12 strikes, consisting of 17 engagements, in Iraq and Syria, the coalition said in a news release.
Information Talk Media News, http://www.talkmedianews.com
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