DAMASCUS, SYRIA (11:45 P.M.) – On Saturday, the Kurdish-led ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) reached positions roughly six kilometers from Tabqa Airbase amid a massive offensive in the western Raqqa countryside.
Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa, an Arab contingent of the SDF, claimed to have captured Tabqa Airbase in a remarkable online statement on Saturday evening. However, upon enquiring with a military source in the SDF’s operations room, Al-Masdar News was informed that the claim was completely fabricated.
At the moment, US-backed Kurdish forwards units are held up around the town of Al-Mushayrifah on the southern bank of Lake Assad following a large-scale airborne and naval offensive across the Euphrates River.
#Raqqa: Overnight #SDF operations in the #Tabqa region. pic.twitter.com/jJdwLHYWn8
— Chris Tomson (@TheDaneChris) March 25, 2017
In addition, SDF units were forced to withdraw from Tabqa Dam on Saturday after three days of heavy clashes with ISIS militants, Amaq Agency claimed.
Not far away, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) liberated two villages in Aleppo province en route to ISIS-held areas of Raqqa province.
A SDF spokesmen stated on Friday that the SAA was welcome to join the SDF in its Euphates Wrath offensive which ultimately looks to liberate Raqqa city, the self-proclaimed Islamic State capital.
Tabqa Airbase witnessed a massacre of at least 160 SAA soldiers whom had surrendered to ISIS in August 2014 after running out of ammunition.
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