While U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter indicated on October 25 that the coalition was making plans to attack Raqqa, even as it fought for Mosul, there is no significant ground force right now that could oust Islamic State from its Syrian stronghold.
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If Mosul falls, Raqa will be the only major city left under IS control and Western officials have said they hope to launch an offensive to retake the Syrian city within weeks.
A U.S. fighter, who is fighting alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), carries his national flag as he stands with SDF fighters in the northern province of Raqqa, Syria, May 27, 2016.
When Stephanopoulos said that Secretary of Defense Ash Carter reported Tuesday that 35 Islamic State leaders had been killed in the run-up to the Mosul offensive, Trump scoffed.
“We’ve planned for that, and we have the resources for both”, Carter told NBC News early Wednesday, saying an attack on Raqqa would commence “in the next few weeks”.
At a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting in Brussels, Carter told reporters that troops are now being mobilized for the siege of Raqqa that would take place in the next couple of weeks; he declined to give more specifics about the attack. I said, ‘Come, let’s remove Daesh (ISIS) from Raqqa together.
Townsend is commander of the US -led coalition that is fighting IS in both Iraq and Syria.
A top USA military commander has stated that Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters will be a part of the operation targeting ISIS in Raqqa, Reuters reported. Moreover, the U.S. is gearing up for a new assault on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria. “But we know that this plot planning is emanating from Raqqa”.
Ankara has demanded that the YPG not take part in the fight to retake Raqqa. Given those sensitivities, Townsend said the isolation of Raqqah would be primarily undertaken by the Syrian Arab forces aligned with the Syrian Democratic Forces.
But a senior military official cautioned that conducting major operations in Raqqa and Mosul at the same time would stretch the coalition.
The White House issued a statement about the phone call, noting that Obama “recognized the contributions of Turkey, our NATO Ally, to the campaign, especially in supporting local Syrian forces who have cleared (ISIS) from Turkey’s border in northwest Syria”. That’s problematic, because Turkey has in the past attacked them when they were fighting ISIS, and has warned the USA not to allow any Kurds into Raqqa.
Coalition allies, partners and members are working to refine the military plan for the isolation and eventual liberation of Raqqa, he said, and precision strikes continue to target ISIL’s leaders and command and control structures while reducing the terrorists’ freedom of movement.
Fighters from the Islamic State group marching in Raqqa, Syria, January 14, 2014. Turkey has expressed dismay about involvement by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, in plans by the U.S.to recapture the city.
“Turkey doesn’t want to see us operating with the SDF anywhere, particularly in Raqqa”, Townsend said.
Carter was speaking alongside French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian after a meeting with 11 other defense chiefs to discuss progress in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State group.
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“Syrian commanders will make decisions about what needs to be done there to completely encircle, to partially encircle and to attack from this direction or attack from that direction”, he said.
