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Obama unlikely to see assault on ISIS Syria stronghold before leaving office

WASHINGTON - A US-backed assault on Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, is unlikely to pierce the city itself before President Barack Obama leaves office in January, denying him the chance to claim the end of the group's "caliphate" as part of his legacy.

 

Although a US-backed alliance of Syrian armed groups announced the kickoff of the offensive on Sunday, US officials caution the fighters will first try to seal off and isolate the Islamic State stronghold, a process that could take two months or longer.

 

As a result, the victor of Tuesday's US presidential election almost certainly will inherit the job of routing the militants from the city from which they have run their shrinking territories in Syria and Iraq, overseen branches from West Africa to South Asia and plotted attacks in Western Europe and elsewhere.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.07.16, 08:58