Syrian military offensive in Al-Raqqah comes to a halt

World Today

Syrian military offensive in Al-Raqqah comes to a halt2

After weeks of fighting, a military offensive into the ISIL-held Al-Raqqah province in Syria has come to a halt. The Syrian army has not officially commented on whether they will resume to attack or where the next target for the army will be.

CCTV’s Alaa Ebrahim takes a closer look into the situation. Follow Alaa Ebrahim on Twitter @Alaa_Ebrahim_tv

The battle to retake Al-Raqqah seems to have come to an end. The Syrian army did not manage to retake the city nor the province’s strategic airbase, but posts the army gained will serve as a launching point for future offensives.

The military operation here has been going on for quite some time. The army is trying to advance toward the self-proclaimed capital of ISIL in Syria, Al-Raqqah city.

ISIL put oil drills in Al-Raqqah, to extract oil and sell it across the borders to finance their military campaign and gain control over the area. 

It is easy to spot ISIL oil drills and primitive refineries all over the oil-rich Al-Raqqa province. Inside the ISIL quarters, the Syrian army found invoices and receipts issued from the The State of the Caliphate. Syrian military intelligence thinks there is a lot to be gained from these documents.

In other places, they found entry cards and cargo documents of every truck that crossed the borders carrying ISIL blood oil.

“These documents facilitate the movement of trucks carrying ISIL commodities by following the money,” Saleh Meraneh, Syrian military intelligence, said. “We can understand how the operations of the terrorists is running.”

After weeks of fierce clashes, the military suspended their campaign. Fighting against the intense heat of Syria summer, the dry desert and the radical group is not an a combination of enemies to be taken lightly.

The government offensive stopped and the soldiers can now rest, but not for long. In Syria, the war can’t be on pause for long.