Raqqa

Since January  the tide has turned dramatically against ISIS on almost every front
1.  Mosul
The Iraqi army began its operation to liberate Mosul in October.  Contrary to initial expectations it encountered fierce resistance and the first part of the operation, which was focused on liberating Mosul east of the Tigris proved exceptionally difficult.  Eventually eastern Mosul was liberated but only after many weeks of fierce fighting and after the Iraqi army suffered heavy casualties.

U.S. forces patrol on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, a flashpoint between Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, in al-Asaliyah village, Aleppo province, Syria, March 7, 2017. (Arab 24 via AP)
BEIRUT  — Rolling around 200 Marines backed with howitzers into northern Syria, the United States is shifting from working quietly behind the scenes in Syria’s conflict, turning instead toward overt displays of U.S. force in an attempt to shape the fight.

US Army M1126 Stryker armoured vehicles rolled into Syria this week (Source: Twitter)
21st Century Wire says…
Yesterday reports emerged of a US heavy armoured convoy heeding through northern Syria, heading towards a forward position near the flashpoint city of Manbij, near the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. 

In an extraordinary twist illustrating the fantastic complexity of the Syria conflict, news agency reports confirm the presence of both US and Russian troops in the Kurdish controlled Syrian town of Manbij.

By M K Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline | March 3, 2017 After a 3-year interlude, NATO and Russia resumed contact at the military level today. Back in April 2014, in the immediate aftermath of the ‘regime change’ in Ukraine, the NATO Council had made a decision to freeze relations with Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry […]

Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel speaks to reporters Saturday, May 21, 2016 during a secret trip to Syria.
(REPORT) — Defense Secretary James Mattis hasn’t finalized his recommendations for the ISIS war, and doesn’t expect to do so until the end of the month, but Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel seems pretty sure that he’d like more troops to command in Syria, and that could mean a significant expansion of US ground troops in Syria.

The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that Russian TU95MS strategic bombers have launched advanced Kh-101 cruise missiles on ISIS positions near ISIS’s Syrian “capital” of Raqqa.

(ANTIWAR) Following up on yesterday’s report that the Pentagon is likely to recommend a significant deployment of US ground troops to Syria by month’s end, Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed that the US, as well as NATO as an alliance, are preparing to

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford greets Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon (AP/Alex Brandon)

(MEE) The US-led coalition is killing more civilians than Russia in its campaign in Syria for the first time since Moscw entered the country’s civil war in 2015, according to data from a war monitor.