Kurds claim advances against ISIL in east Syria

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A powerful Syrian Kurdish militia announced on Sunday it had cleared ISIL militant fighters from key territory east of the Euphrates River.

In a surprising announcement, the People's Protection Units (YPG) also said the victory in Syria's Deir Ezzor province came with logistical and air support from Russia, as well as the US-led coalition, its traditional backer.

The YPG was spearheading a US-backed offensive to oust ISIL from territory east of the winding Euphrates River, which cuts diagonally across Deir Ezzor, while rival Russian-backed Syrian troops battled the militants on the western bank.

It appears to be the first time that Syria's Kurds acknowledge receiving direct Russian support.

On Sunday, YPG officials met with a Russian military delegation in a town on the eastern bank of Deir Ezzor province, according to the Kurdish-run ANHA news agency.

"The eastern countryside of the city has been fully liberated from Islamic State (ISIL)... with the international coalition and Russia's support," YPG spokesman Nuri Mahmoud said in a statement. "We thank the international coalition and the Russian forces for their air, logistical, advisory support and coordination on the ground."

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa, Syria, July 3, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Mahmoud said the YPG "hoped for an increase in support and the provision of air defense and required cover."

ISIL militants once held most of oil-rich Deir Ezzor, but now control only a tiny sliver of the province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Sunday, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said ISIL still held several villages in the province, on both banks of the Euphrates River.

The YPG formed the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an Arab-Kurdish alliance that ousted ISIL from swathes of northern and eastern Syria, with help from the US-led coalition.

In September, the SDF began its assault on ISIL positions in the eastern half of Deir Ezzor province, as Russian-backed government troops squeezed ISIL in the western half.

The SDF accused Moscow of striking its forces several times during the drive, which makes Sunday's announcement of Russian support all the more surprising.

Last week, the White House said it would be making "adjustments" to its military support of militia in Syria.

The US-led coalition has provided air support, weapons, and advice to the YPG and SDF in their push against ISIL.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters