Kurdish-led forces in Syria launch new campaign against remnants of Islamic State near Iraqi border

US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria announced on Friday a fresh campaign to hunt down the remaining Islamic State terrorists near the Iraqi border, after a recent uptick in attacks.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led paramilitary alliance, has spearheaded the ground fight in Syria against the terrorist group since 2015. The SDF says the new campaign is being carried out in coordination with the Iraqi army and the US-led coalition to target Islamic State’s “hideouts and hotbeds.”

The operations will focus on Syria’s vast desert near the border with Iraq, where the terrorist group has conducted a spate of attacks in recent months.

Since losing its last strongholds in Syria in March 2019, Islamic State’s attacks have been restricted to the desert stretching from the heavily populated Orontes valley in the west all the way to the Iraqi border.