Last evening, ISIS terrorists launched a counter-attack against US-backed YPG forces northwest of al-Raqqah, attacking the areas of Sweidiya al-Saghirah and Job Shaeer.

As a result of a series of intense firefights, ISIS units retook control of Sweidiya al-Saghirah and advanced on YPG positions in the area of Jabar.

YPG forces, backed up by US-led coalition warplanes, repelled the terrorist group’s attack on Job Shaeer.

ISIS-linked sources released reports that about 70 Kurdish fighters were killed in the ISIS counter-attacks. Pro-Kurdish sources claimed that some 46 ISIS members were killed in clashes for Sweidiya al-Saghirah.

The recent ISIS operation is an illustration of SouthFront’s previous report that the terrorist group implements a fluid defense approach, strategically withdrawing to well-prepared defensive positions near the city of al-Raqqah.

This is now the main reason behind the rapid YPG advance in the al-Raqqah countryside.