After 2 months of the operation of the Euphrates’ east…the Coalition and SDF back to point zero, about 1100 citizens and fighters were killed, 300 others were kidnapped and preparations for a grand battle
The military operations within the eastern sector of Deir Ezzor countryside, against the last enclave remaining under the control of the “Islamic State” organization on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, completed their second consecutive month on the 10th of November 2018, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that with the end of the second moth, the situations returned to point zero, as they were before launching the military operation on the 10th of September 2018, the date when it was launched under the command of the Coalition and the Syria Democratic Forces, where the organization has depended since the operation completed its first month and to the end of the second moth, on counter attacks that were carried out by it, through which the organization targeted the advancements which were achieved by the Coalition and the SDF in the first month of heavy aerial and ground shelling by the both parties and by the International Coalitions’ warplanes, and the operations led to the recovery of all the areas that the organization lost during the military operation, thus, its controlled areas expanded again from Hajin town to the Syrian – Iraqi border, including the towns and villages of Hajin, Al-Sha’afah, al-Marashdah, Al-Bokhater, Al-Bobadran, Al-Susah, Al-Shajlah, Al-Baghuz Foqani and Al-Baghuz Tahtani, and the organization depended during the operations of recovering these areas, on blowing fighters themselves up using bobby trapped vehicles and explosive belts, as well as depending on the members of the “Caliphate Cubs” of children who have joined the organization, in addition to women recruited within the ranks of the organization, it also depended greatly on the tunnels which enabled it to move its vehicles without being targeted by the International Coalition, which confused the SDF and the Coalition.
The military operation which the SDF and the International Coalition announced about on the 10th of September 2018, came after weeks of preparations represented by bringing thousands of fighters by the Syria Democratic Forces and the Coalition to the vicinity of the enclave which is controlled by the organization, in addition to bringing massive military reinforcements of armored vehicles, tanks, heavy gears, bulldozers, machineguns, missiles, ammunition and logistic equipment, which entered the Syrian territory on trucks and were transported to the vicinity of this enclave, and the recent 2 weeks witnessed the sending of hundreds of trucks loaded with logistic equipment, weapons and ammunition, to the bases of the International Coalition and the battle fronts, while the military operation has been concentrated since it was launched in 2 main fronts the first of which is Hajin town where the organization defended desperately against the SDF’s advancement, and Al-Baghuz area where the SDF managed to achieve further advancement, where the SOHR monitored that the SDF managed during the military operation to take the control of large spaces of Al-Baghuz Foqani, and to impose their control over Al-Shajlah village and Muzan area, they also advanced and took the control of most of Al-Susah town, and into the outskirts of al-Marashdah village, and they advanced into parts of Hajin town, clamping down on the “Islamic State” organization which was seeking to prevent the SDF from confining it in narrower area, but the heavy firepower used by the SDF and the Coalition in the artillery and rocket shelling as well as the airstrikes carried out by the International Coalition’s warplanes on the area, prevented the organization from achieving its goal, until it started on the 10th of October to carry out counterattacks led to recovering the areas it lost during the advancement of the SDF and the Coalition, where the organization focused greatly on the counterattacks and blowing the fighters themselves up using bobby trapped vehicles and explosive belts, and depended on the heavy-planted mines in its last enclave in the east of the Euphrates, in addition to using the tunnels that secure easy movement for it in its controlled areas, and the tunnels sometimes secure its counterattacks against the advancements of the SDF, where they were highly alerted during their latest control over the area, when they advance as a result of all of these details that obstructed their planned advancement.
The Syrian Observatory documented the death of at least 123citizens who were killed in ISIS last enclave, including 2 children who were killed in shelling by SDF, and the rest were killed in the Coalition’s strikes most of them are of the Iraqi nationality and of ISIS families, including 5 persons who were killed in the first month of the military operations, in addition to the 2 child girls who were killed in the SDF’s shelling, since the 10th of September 2018, and the International Coalition’s strikes targeted two mosques and a Koranic institute in al-Susah town within the ISIS-enclave in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and the majority of them are of Iraqi nationality including families of ISIS members, and in strikes targeted a house in al-Bobadran village and in raids on Hajin, Al-Sha’afah and other areas of the last enclave of ISIS east of the Euphrates, the organization also executed 5 citizens on charge of dealing with the SDF, and it also executed 10 fighters of the SDF after it captured them, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 608, the number of fighters and commanders of the “Islamic State” Organization, who were killed in the shelling, clashes, detonations and airstrikes within ISIS last enclave, including 341 members who were killed in the second month of military operations, while the Syrian Observatory documented the death of 347, the members of the SDF who were killed in clash against ISIS, including at last 208 members who were killed in the second month of military operations, since the start of the military operations on the 10th of September 2018, the SOHR also monitored the fall of hundreds of wounded among citizens and fighter of the both conflicting parties, in addition to causing more destruction to the infrastructure and the citizens’ property.
Also 300 persons of 130 families were abducted, including at least 90 women of different nationalities, the majority of whom are nationalities of the former Soviet Union whose fate is still unknown, where the organization separated the women from the rest of the abductees, amid fears for their lives of executions that may be carried out individually or collectively by ISIS, and the abduction took place from al-Bahra camp, where the Syrian Observatory previously monitored the Syria Democratic Forces and the International Coalition moving tens of people and families to al-Bahra camp, which consists of tens of tents in the countryside of Hajin town, where it was established by SDF and the Coalition with the purpose of sheltering displaced families in addition to families of members of the “Islamic State” organization.
The enclave that is still remaining under the control of the “Islamic State” organization witnessed before the start of the military operation against it; the opening crossings and the entry of food, opening a camp and allowing civilians and families of members of the “Islamic State” Organization to exit the enclave, also the enclave itself witnessed the removal of “al-Hisba Body,” where the “Islamic State” Organization was focusing on the security side and controlling the area under its control, while the Syria Democratic Forces with the US forces and the International Coalition, tend to prepare for a military operation with the purpose of ending the presence of the organization at the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, which is the last enclave left for the organization in the east of the Euphrates, and the presence of the organization as a dominant power will be end with the end of the enclave, and it will turn to operate as sleeper and active cells inside the controlled areas of the SDF in the east of the Euphrates.
Intersected sources previously confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that forces of Deir Ezzor Military Council of the Syria Democratic Forces; are positioning in the first lines in the confrontation of the “Islamic State” Organization, after the withdrawal of YPG and replacing them by al-Sh’aytat and then the withdrawal of the latter, and that’s when Deir Ezzor Military Council positioned on the contact lines with the ISIS-controlled enclave, which planted the enclave with mines intensely, including the laser mines that strained the attacking and advancing forces and caused significant casualties, where the sources confirmed that the mines and their sensitivity and intensity in the last enclave of the Organization have injuring tens of fighters of varying severity and caused amputations for some of them, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained information from several reliable sources that tens of members of the “Islamic State” Organization have infiltrated from the last enclave of ISIS east of Euphrates to the western bank of the river, where the areas there are controlled by the regime forces, the Iranian forces, and their loyal gunmen, and that they are monitored and tolerated by the International Coalition Forces who are attacking the last enclave of the Organization, and intersected sources confirmed previously to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the commander of Deir Ezzor Military council, known as “Abu Khawla”, has resigned as the commander of the Forces of the Council operating under the command of the Syria Democratic Forces, which is formed by fighters from the countryside of Deir Ezzor, who participated in the battles of control of the eastern Euphrates in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and the Syrian Observatory learned that the resignation of Abu Khawla came as a result of the failure of his forces in repelling the attack of the “Islamic State” Organization, on the 27th and 28th of October 2018, where the Organization began with similar attacks since the 10th of October taking advantage of sandstorms, rainy climates, and bad weather, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also published on the 28th of October 2018 that the Syrian Observatory learned from reliable sources that the “Islamic State” organization used women and children of the “Caliphate Cubs”, in its fierce attack, where reliable sources through fighters in the SDF, confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that they have never seen such horrible attack, where the attack was carried out by more than 200 fighters, and women were used as snipers of the organization, and in Al-Susah town, the Syrian Observatory learned that the organization followed a plan to locate the positions of the Syria Democratic Forces in order to attack them directly, through making a woman of the organization to went out in the town and shouting the name “Sarah”, and when the members of the SDF heard her, they tried to went out to help her, but they were surprised with the organization attacking the posts of the SDF directly, the organization also depended on attacking by vehicles that came from tunnels they dug earlier, and in some clashes the distance between the both conflicting parties was only a few meters.
While the Syrian Observatory monitored the Syria Democratic Forces and the International Coalition transferring tens of people and families to al-Bahra camp, which consists of tens of tents in the countryside of the Hajin town, which was established by SDF and the Coalition to accommodate the displaced families and families of members of the “Islamic State” Organization, where it is expected for the displaced people to be accommodated in the camp in the next few days, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained information from reliable sources who confirmed that hundreds members of the internal Kurdish security forces “Asayish”; headed to areas near ISI last enclave, in order to arrest the sleeper cells and end their presence, they will also monitor the supply lines of the SDF in anticipation for any expected attack by the cells of the organization, in order to prevent them to reach the fronts, especially in the case of deteriorating weather conditions.
The Syrian Observatory published previously that the prisons of the organization in its last enclave at the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, still contain hundreds of prisoners distributed in Hajin and Al-Shaafa, where there are 2 prisons in Al-Shaafa containing more than 1350 prisoners including members of the organization mostly of foreign nationalities with various charges such as security charges, and in Hajin town, there are about 800 prisoners accused of various charges, and the Syrian Observatory published previously, that it learned from reliable sources, that the Coalition Forces continue their intelligence search for a major tunnel in Hajin area, where the sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the French Forces in particular have obtained incomplete information about a tunnel for the organization in Hajin area, which is about 8 km long and the cars and vehicles can go through it, where the French Forces are trying to get full information about the tunnel and its location, so that the International Coalition can start the military operation, also obtained information from reliable sources reported that there are more than 65 first-rank commanders of the “Islamic State” organization in Hajin town in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, the majority of them are of Iraqi nationality in addition to foreign nationalities.