IS retakes almost all of vital Syria border town

Losing Albu Kamal would have completely capped terror group’s reversion to an underground guerrilla organization with no urban base

By AFP 11 November 2017, 3:07 pm

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In this undated file photo released by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, jihadists from the Islamic State group hold up their weapons and wave its flags on their vehicles in a convoy to Iraq, in Raqqa, Syria. (Militant website via AP, file)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamic State group jihadists have recaptured nearly all of Albu Kamal, putting up a fierce fightback for what had been the last significant Syrian town under their control, a monitor said Saturday.

Syrian regime forces and allied militia overran Albu Kamal, which lies on the border with Iraq, on Thursday but have since faced a string of IS counter-attacks.

On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS had “ambushed” the attacking forces and managed to oust them from most of the town.

“IS has almost completely retaken control of Albu Kamal, pushing pro-regime forces to its southern and eastern edges,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based monitor.

Clashes were still raging there on Saturday, he said.

IS began counter-attacking on Thursday night, swiftly retaking several northern districts of Albu Kamal from pro-government fighters.

“It was Daesh’s biggest ambush operation, tricking the attacking forces into thinking they had controlled the city,” Abdel Rahman said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

Albu Kamal lies at the heart of what used to be the sprawling “caliphate” that IS declared in 2014 across swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Losing it completely would have capped the group’s reversion to an underground guerrilla organization with no urban base.