SDF

US strikes on Raqqa are related to the Qatar crisis

Days after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Maldives, the Hadi government in Yemen and the Libyan House of Representatives government cut off all relations with Qatar, the US resumed missile strikes on Raqqa, the self-proclaimed ISIS capital on occupied Syrian territory.
The missiles have been launched from the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group which yesterday left port in Dubai in the UAE and sailed to the Eastern Mediterranean.
This comes as the US backed Kurdish led SDF forces make a strong push on Raqqa by land.

Russia successfully cuts off escape route of ISIS fighters fleeing Palmyra

The Russian Defence Ministry has released a statement commenting on the strategic rationale for recent successful Kalibr cruise missile strikes on ISIS fighters and vehicles outside of Palmyra.
The statement explained that Raqqa’s effective encirclement by the Kurdish dominated SDF forces in addition to US and western European forces had been partly breached when the SDF allowed for an opening around Raqqa which has allowed for an escape route that ISIS attempted to exploit.