Syrian Army reaches Lake Assad for the first time since 2012
Unprecedented gains were acchieved in the eastern Aleppo countryside on Tuesday as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) wrestled control of over 30 villages from ISIS in less than 24 hours.
Moments ago, the SAA’s Tiger Forces also captured the town of Al-Sukhny, thus setting foot on the western bank of Lake Assad (Euphrates River) for the first time in five years.
Effectively, the SAA’s offensive has almost entirely expelled ISIS from Aleppo province. In addition, the advances cancel any plans by the Kurdish-led ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ about advancing towards Raqqa city from the western bank of the Euphrates River.
As a token of appreciation, the SAA brought two bottles of Euphrates water to Russian generals at Kuweiris Airbase in show of gratitude for their air support. According to AMN correspondent Yusha Yuseef, the symbolic bottles will be flown to Moscow shortly.
Next up, the Tiger Forces will strike southwards along Lake Assad until they encountered ISIS’ last defensive line on the axis between Jirah Airbase and Deir Hafer.
Due to today’s SAA advancements, the Tiger Forces have not only lived up to their reputation as fearsome assault troops, but also arguably proven to be the most effective fighting force in the fight to defeat the Islamic State.