Syrian army in race with US-armed fighters for eastern Syria Bassem Mroue, Associated Press

[TomSea]

Syrian army in race with US-armed fighters for eastern Syria
Bassem Mroue, Associated Press Updated 9:48 am, Saturday, September 9, 2017

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S.-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq on Saturday, bringing them into a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in the war-torn country.

The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest focus of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The U.S.-trained Deir el-Zour Military Council said it was calling its operation Jazeera Storm, after the familiar name for northeast Syria. The Military Council is a part of the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which enjoys broad U.S. military support. The SDF are the U.S.'s primary ally in the fight against IS in Syria.

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