The Russians beat the Americans to Berlin in World War II, and now it looks like Russian-backed forces are racing American-backed forces to liberate Raqqa, the Islamic State’s putative capital in Syria.
The U.S. is backing an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters who have slowly been advancing on Raqqa from the north, while the Syrian Army of Bashar Assad has been moving on the city from the south and west, with the help of Russian air support.
A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq confirmed on Wednesday that the Syrian Army troops were about 20 miles from Raqqa, and heading in the direction of the city, but declined to describe their intentions.
“What’s important for us is, first of all, anything that puts pressure on Daesh, we support, but there is no coordination between us and those forces at this time,” said Col. Chris Garver briefing Pentagon reporters via Skype from Baghdad.
Garver said the U.S. is focused on key battles farther north, where the U.S. is backing a force of 3,000 local fighters attempting to retake their home town of Manjib, a strategically important border town, and key communications link for Raqqa to the south.
So far the Syrian-Arab Coalition, which is said to be made of 85 percent local Arab fighters, has met stiff opposition from the Islamic State.
The U.S. says the attacking force has had 12 troops killed and 100 wounded, including a key battlefield commander, Abu Layla, who was wounded on the front lines, and died two days later.
The U.S. has conducted more than 100 airstrikes in support of the ground forces, and it appears they may soon enter the final phase of their assault.
“At the pace they’re moving now and at the speed that they’ve been able to fight the enemy, we think they’re matter of days before they conduct the attack on the city,” Garver said.
