Operation Featherweight: Month 38, Week 4, Day 7.

On November 6th 2016 (6/11/17) the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) launched an operation to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The SDF are a coalition of Kurdish, Christian, Turkmen and Arab forces. The Arab element which makes up around 50% of the coalition is made up of both fragments of the long defunct Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Arab tribes indigenous to northern Syria.

The SDF is supported by the US-led coalition Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR).

The city of Raqqa sits on the Euphrates River. It is located around 200km (120 miles) west of Syria's border with Iraq and around 100km (60 miles) south of Syria's border with Turkey. It has functioned as ISIL's de facto capital in Syria.

The first stage of the SDF's operation was to advance on Raqqa from three directions; North, West and East. This was completed on March 19th 2017 (19/3/17) with the SDF taking up positions at al-Karamah - around 30km (20 miles) south-east of Raqqa.

On March 22nd (22/3/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate the town of Tabqa and the adjoining Tabqa Dam which forms Lake Assad out of the Euphrates River. This operation was completed on May 11th (11/5/17) giving the SDF control of positions on the southern banks of the Euphrates some 40km (25 miles) west of Raqqa.

On June 6th (6/6/17) the operation to liberate Raqqa itself was begun.

This saw the SDF enter Raqqa in three directions; North, West and East. At the same time the SDF swept west-to-east from Tabqa along the southern bank of the Euphrates in order to isolate Raqqa from the main body of Syria.

The SDF's northern axis task was to liberate the former Syrian military - Division 17 - base to the north of the city. This task was completed on or around August 1st (1/8/17). Since then the northern axis has maintained a holding pattern.


The SDF's western axis entered the city via the Jazra suburb on June 6th (6/6/17).  By July 3rd (3/7/17) the western axis had succeeded in completely liberating the Sabahiya, Romaniyah, al-Qadisiyyah and al-Hattin districts and parts of the an-Nadah and al-Baryd districts. These all sit on the western outskirts of Raqqa.

The SDF's eastern axis began by entering the Mashlab district at the most south-easterly tip of Raqqa on June 6th (6/6/17). By June 17th (17/6/17) it had succeeded in liberating the Mashlab, al-Sinaa and Bitani districts. These all sit on the eastern outskirts of Raqqa.

On July 2nd (2/7/17) the eastern axis entered the Hisham Abdulmalik district at the very south of Raqqa on the banks of the Euphrates.

Having liberated the Yarmouk district on July 17th (17/7/17) the western axis entered the Shahada district. This also sits at the very south of Raqqa directly adjacent to the Hisham Abdulmalik district.

On August 10th (10/8/17) the SDF were able to declare both the Hisham Abdulmalik and Shahada districts fully liberated. That limited ISIL to just 16 districts in the north and centre of the city.

Before entering the Hisham Abdulmalik district the SDF's eastern axis entered the al-Rawdah district on June 28th (28/6/17). This sits directly north-west of the Bitani district and directly north of the Old City district.


Alongside fighting in the Hisham Abdulmalik and al-Rawdah districts the eastern axis also entered the Old City district of Raqqa on July 6th (6/7/17). This sits directly west of the al-Sinaa and Bitani districts and directly north of the Hisham Abdulmalik district.



On September 2nd (2/9/17) the SDF liberated the Mansur neighbourhood. This was the last of the Old City's four neighbourhoods to be liberated and marked to complete liberation of the Old City.


Directly to the west of the Old City district you have what is believed to be ISIL's main headquarters within Raqqa.

This stretches across several districts including al-Baytra, Hanah, Amin and what is known as the Security Box. It is perhaps better defined by landmarks such as Harun al-Rashid Gardens, April 7th Park, the National Hospital and the football stadium.

On June 28th (28/6/17) the SDF's western axis entered the an-Nadah district. This sits directly south of the al-Bayrd district and directly east of the Hattin district.

Although not particularly wide the an-Nadah district is quite long. It stretches almost from the western outskirts of Raqqa down to the Hanah district and the National Hospital.

On August 28th (28/8/17) the SDF's western axis scored a significant strategic victory. Pushing north from the Shahada district they liberated the Children's Hospital complex. A location they first reached from the west on July 24th (24/7/17).

Located at the junction between the Shahada and al-Moroor districts and the Security Box the Children's Hospital complex was one of the key landmarks on the outskirts of what is believed to be ISIL's main headquarters within Raqqa. It had long been used by the group as a military base and command centre.

Having liberated the Children's Hospital complex the SDF have continued to advance north across the al-Moroor district to where it meets the al-Nadah district. They have then advanced along the road separating the al-Moroor and al-Nadah districts to the liberated Karim district.

This has allowed them to divide the al-Moroor and Darayeh districts from the Amin district which is at the centred of what is believed to be ISIL's main headquarters in Raqqa. It has also allowed them to divide the al-Moroor and Darayeh districts from the al-Nadah district.

On September 6th (6/9/17) the SDF scored another strategic victory by liberating the Court House and Criminal Security complex.

Another of the key landmarks of the edge of what is believed to be ISIL's main headquarters within Raqqa this is located where al-Nadah district meets al-Moroor district. It is located less than 100metres/yards from the National Hospital complex.

Having liberated the Court House complex the SDF have continued to push north. On September 7th (7/9/17) they liberated the al-Tishah neighbourhood.

This is the most southerly neighbourhood within the al-Nadah district. It's liberation traps any remaining fighters within the district between twin SDF advances from the north and south.

On September 8th (8/9/17) the SDF succeeded in liberating all of the Darayeh district. This sits directly to the north of the Shahada district and directly west of the al-Moroor district leading out to the western suburb of Jazra.

On September 10th (10/9/17) the SDF liberated all of al-Moroor district. This sits directly north of the Shahada district and directly south of the al-Nadah district. On its south-eastern edge the al-Moroor district borders the Security Box area when the Children's Hospital complex sits.

Having liberated the al-Tishah neighbourhood of al-Nadah district the SDF's western axis have continued to push east deep into the area where ISIL's main headquarters are believed to be located.

Since Wednesday (13/9/17) they have been fighting within the city block which has the April 7th Park at it's southern tip and the Children's Gardens at its north-easterly tip.

It is in this city block that someone on Google Maps has registered the business "ISIS Capital." Although that is sadly not totally accurate once the SDF's western axis liberate the Children's Gardens it will put them within one city block or roughly 200 metres/yards from linking up with the eastern axis in the liberated Mansur neighbourhood of the Old City district.

Alongside their advance towards the Children's Park on September 11th (11/9/17) the SDF's western axis launched an operation to liberate the National Hospital complex.

This large complex essentially makes up the entire Hanah district. It's sits directly west of the April 7th Park. As with the Children's Hospital complex it has not functioned as a hospital for a very long time. Instead ISIL have been using it as command & control centre and military base.

While the western axis has been rapidly advancing the SDF's eastern axis have not been sitting on their hands. Pushing north from the Hisham Abdulmalik district they have advanced into the al-Baytra district liberating the Governate Building on September 12th (12/9/17). This sits around 300-400 metres/yards south of Harun al-Rashid Gardens.

Back on  June 29th (29/6/17) the SDF's west-to-east southern sweep reached the eastern outskirts of Raqqa. This meant that the city was completely cut-off from the main body of Syria.

As of July 24th (24/7/17) the SDF had taken up positions around 25km (15 miles) south-east of Raqqa roughly at the northern outskirts of the town of Dalhah. There they were forced to stop.

Since May 2017 the Syrians themselves along with their Russian backers have been ranging their entire might against ISIL. Having liberated the city of Aleppo from the Al Qaeda-led, ISIL allied Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah (JAF) coalition in December 2016 the Syrians have been advancing east across Aleppo Province.

On June 4th (4/6/17) the Syrians liberated the town of Maskanah which sits on the banks of Lake Assad around 90km (50 miles) west of Raqqa. Having liberated Maskanah - the last ISIL held town in Aleppo Province - the Syrians skirted around the SDF's operations in Tabqa and Raqqa.

On July 30th (30/7/17) the Syrians liberated the town of Dalhah from ISIL. It's liberation by the Syrians prevents the SDF from advancing further east along the southern banks of the Euphrates.

While they've been advancing east across Aleppo Province the Syrians have also been advancing across southern Syria. Firstly they liberated some  280km (170 miles) between the capital Damascus and al-Tanf on Syria's border with Iraq.

Having reached al-Tanf on June 9th (9/6/17) they then advanced 180km (110 miles) north-west to the city of Palmyra. Sitting almost at the exact centre of Syria Palmyra was liberated from ISIL by the Syrians in March 2017.

On August 6th (6/8/17) the Syrian forces from Palmyra and Dalhah converged on the town of as-Suknah. This sits around 130km (75 miles) south of Raqqa, 65km (40 miles) north-east of Palmyra and was the last ISIL held town in Homs Province.

From as-Suknah the Syrians objective has been to advance on the city of Deir-ez-Zour. This straddles the Euphrates around 120km (70 miles) south-east of Raqqa and around 120km (70 miles) north-east of as-Suknah.

Since March 2014 the entire portion of Deir-ez-Zour City which sits on the northern banks of the Euphrates has been under ISIL occupation. ISIL have also been able to occupy a portion of the city on the southern banks of the Euphrates. Broadly the Jbela and Hamidiyeh districts down to al-Arfi Street.

The Syrians however have been able to cling onto two pockets on the outskirts of the city;

To the west they have been limited to an area stretching from their 137th Brigade base into the south-west of the city up to the Cemetery area.

To the east they have been restricted to an area stretching from the Airport complex into the south-east of the city up to the al-Rasafah district.

On September 5th (5/9/17) the Syrians were able to break through from as-Suknah to their 137th Brigade Base. This ended the more than three year siege on their forces in western Deir-ez-Zour City.

On September 9th (9/9/17) the Syrians were able to advance across the Cemetery to the Harabesh Quarter district. This linked the west and eastern parts of Deir-ez-Zour city held by the Syrians lifting the siege on the Airport complex.

Since then though the Syrians have declined to liberate the centre of the southern portion of Deir-ez-Zour city from ISIL. Instead they have focused on liberating the southern outskirts of the city in order to totally surrounded its southern side. Also on September 9th (9/9/17) they liberated the Thayyem Oil Field around 15km (10 miles) south of Deir-ez-Zour city.

The convergence of Syrian forces on as-Suknah on August 6th (6/8/17) triggered something of a race between the Syrians and CJTFOIR over who would be the first to reach and then liberate Deir-ez-Zour.

On August 26th (26/9/17) CJTFOIR announced more or less on the SDF's behalf that it to would be mounting an operation to liberate Deir-ez-Zour city. Despite still fighting to liberate Raqqa city the SDF's Deir-ez-Zour operation began on September 9th (9/9/17).

Codenamed; "Cizre Storm" its first stage started from one of those imaginary lines in the desert running roughly from Madan on the banks of the Euphrates diagonally to ash-Shaddadi. From there the SDF would advance 65km (40 miles) south-east towards Deir-ez-Zour City.

The SDF's initial progress has been dramatic. By September 13th  (13/9/17) they had reached the industrial zone at the north-east of Deir-ez-Zour City. This puts them within roughly 1,200 metres/yards of al-Salhiyyah - the first district of the city proper.

However rather than being a cause for celebration this actually makes me nervous for several reasons;

Although they have advanced rapidly the corridor the SDF have created is only 3km (2 miles) wide at its narrowest point. The areas east and west of it are still under ISIL control putting the advanced forces at significant risk of being cut-off and surrounded by a counter attack.

Rather than being undertaken by the SDF as a whole the Cizre Storm operation is being conducted by an element of the coalition known as the Deir-ez-Zour Military council.

This is comprised mainly by Arab fragments of the FSA who were ousted from Deir-ez-Zour City in March 2014. Some of them have an extremely outsized opinion of their own abilities dubbing themselves "Elite Forces" despite having absolutely nothing in the way of weapons, training or success to back it up.

A large part of the reason why these FSA fragments were ousted from Deir-ez-Zour city in the first place is that they considered it more important to fight the Syrians rather than ISIL. In fact initially many of them viewed ISIL as an ally in fighting the Syrians before ISIL turned against them.

Therefore I'm concerned they may well disobey orders and just launch into an attack on the Syrians pitching the wider SDF into a battle against the Syrians. The only winner from that battle will be ISIL.

Also the best way to liberate a city is to first totally encircle it and besiege it.

As things stand the Syrians can't encircle Deir-ez-Zour to the north because of the SDF while the SDF can't encircle Deir-ez-Zour to the south because of the Syrians. This makes it almost impossible to liberate the city from ISIL without a level of cooperation between the SDF and the Syrians which I'm certainly not happy with.

What has allowed the Syrians to turn their attentions from fighting the Army of Conquest to focus all their efforts on fighting ISIL is the Astana Process.

Formed almost as a compensation for the December 2016 liberation of Aleppo City the Astana Process sees Russia, Syria, Turkey and Iran working to find a solution to the conflict between Syria and the Army of Conquest.

At the fifth round of meetings in the Astana Process on May 3rd (3/5/17) and May 5th (5/5/17) agreement was reached to create four zones within Syria dubbed; "The Astana Zones." These are areas where ISIL are not considered to be active where no fighting will take place between the Syrians and the Army of Conquest.

Since May three of these four Astana Zones have gone into effect. These are; An area around Homs Province, An area around the Syrian capital Damascus and An area along Syria's borders with Jordan and Israel including parts of Deraa and Quneitra Provinces.

The sixth round of meetings in the Astana Process have taken place on Thursday (14/9/17) and Friday (15/9/17). Although I am writing this in London, UK on Friday the time difference means we are within minutes of it being Saturday (16/9/17) in Kazakhstan.

The main topic at this sixth round has been the fourth Astana Zone. This is the area centred around Idlib City close to Syria's border with Turkey. Following the liberation of Aleppo City the Army of Conquest fled to this area leading to it being designated; "The Sudetenland."

That designation is in honour of Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire to use the Army of Conquest to annex Syria as part of his New Ottoman Empire. In exactly the same way Adolf Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in 1938.

As part of his longstanding lust to annex the Sudetenland Erdogan engineered something of a shoving match in the area between the two largest factions in the Army of Conquest in June/July 2017.

This resulted in the Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant/Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham al-Islamiyya (Ahrar al-Sham) who are closely linked to Erdogan through the Muslim Brotherhood being ousted by the Support Front/Jabhat al-Nusra (ANF). Although they try to disguise it by using the name Organisation for the Liberation of the Levant/Hayy'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) the ANF are the Syrian arm of The Base/Al Qaeda.

The intention of this shoving match is that the threat of Al Qaeda right on Turkey's border would give Erdogan an excuse to formally invade and annex the Sudetenland. In an attempt to allow Erdogan to portray himself as the protector of Europe we had the August 17th (17/8/17) which should have been blamed on Al Qaeda.

Of course this shift in control of the Sudetenland means that if this sixth round of meetings in the Astana Process has resulted in the creation of a fourth Astana Zone we are talking about Turkey and Russia formally protecting Al Qaeda in a safe-haven from which they can conduct future terror attacks.

That is a prospect that has got Britain so anxious apparently they've resorted to self-harm.

17:05 on 15/9/17 (UK date).