On Syria fronts, U.S.-backed forces probe Raqqa defenses as Iran-allied fighters gain key foothold

Iran is after securing a land route across the Syrian-Iraqi border to its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.

BEIRUT, Washington post, June 13, 2017 — U.S.-backed forces cleared mines from the eastern fringe of the Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa on Tuesday as a second front south of the city appeared to falter.
After a months-long campaign to cut supply routes into Raqqa, the U.S.-backed group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces has made swift progress in the past week since entering the city.
The U.S. military, however, has predicted a potentially “long and difficult” battle as the Islamic State defends its de facto capital.
The patchwork of factions is backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalitionbattling the Islamic State. But the dominance of Syrian Kurdish fighters in the U.S.-allied ground forces has strained U.S. relations with NATO-ally Turkey, which sees any Kurdish military strength as a threat.
In Raqqa, the Syrian Democratic Forces fought around the edges of Raqqa’s Old City as residents reported heavy shelling. The area is fortified by walls built in the 8th century.

Satellite images taken May 20 appeared to show that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has erected few defenses on the road to the Old City.
In an interview with Al Jazeera late Monday, a fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces said his unit was attempting to clear the area of mines and Islamic State snipers. The fighter spoke with his face covered.
Human Rights Watch issued a plea to the U.S.-backed force to do all it can to protect the tens of thousands of civilians who are believed to be trapped inside the city. 
The U.N. refu¬gee agency also warned of possible humanitarian crises in the Raqqa region and called for more secure land routes to bring in supplies.
The Raqqa battle is unfolding as a similar fight in northern Iraq seeks to wipe out the last Islamic State strongholds in Mosul. With the twin pressures, senior Islamic State leaders and others may have withdrawn to Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zour. 

Meanwhile, U.S.- and Iranian-backed forces have been jostling for position ahead of an offensive to capture the area of Deir-al-Zour in eastern Syria.
For Iran, this includes securing a land route across the Syrian-Iraqi border to its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. For the United States, control of Deir al-Zour would be a boost to President Trump’s calls to blunt Tehran’s influence in the region.
It would also provide U.S.-backed forces with an important bargaining chip to be cashed in the event of a final peace settlement for Syria.
This weekend, an assortment of Iranian-backed militias appeared to all but end U.S. hopes of reaching the town of Bukamal — an important staging point for any offensive on Deir al-Zour — by looping around a Syrian rebel force supported by American Special Operations forces to cut their planned route.