INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SDF and coalition forces are battling ISIS east of Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor (File photo of Syria)Beirut, Lebanon:
A coalition of fighters have ousted the last ISIS terrorists from Syria's northeast province of Hasakeh, the force and a monitor said
late Saturday.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the US-led coalition, have captured
swathes of the country's north and east from ISIS since 2015
On Saturday, they cleared a string of outposts in Hasakeh, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. "The SDF
finished their combing operations through three IS positions in Hasakeh province," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. "Now, for the
first time since 2013, the province is completely empty of IS (ISIS)," he told AFP. ISIS swept through the area five years ago as it was
laying the groundwork for its self-styled Islamic "caliphate," which it declared across Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014. But separate
offensives have whittled down that territory to small, isolated pockets. In early May, the SDF announced the final phase of its operation
to fully expel the terrorists from Hasakeh and along the Euphrates River in the adjacent province of Deir Ezzor.On June 17, it pushed ISIS
from its bastion of Dashisha in Hasakeh province and went on to clear other positions. Mustefa Bali, who heads the SDF's press centre,
confirmed to AFP late Saturday that there was no longer an ISIS presence in Hasakeh."Hasakeh has been fully liberated for the first time
The Observatory said SDF units were being sent to Deir Ezzor to finish off the last ISIS-held areas there. The SDF and coalition forces
are battling ISIS east of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor, while Syrian regime troops backed by Russia are present on the western bank. A
de-confliction line running along the river is meant to keep them from clashing.
