IS Tactics Prolong Fighting Inside Syria's Hajin - US-Led Coalition Envoy

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) Brutal tactics being employed by the Islamic State (IS, terrorist group banned in Russia) against Syrian Democratic Forces has prolonged the battle to take the town of Hajin in eastern Syria, US Special Presidential Envoy to the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, said during a press briefing.

"Our [US] Syrian Democratic Force partners on the ground have pushed into the town of Hajin which is one of the final strongholds of ISIS [IS] just over the last 48 hours," McGurk said on Tuesday. "We've gotten to a point where almost every ISIS fighter is wearing a suicide vest, the extent of IEDs and placements, it's very, very difficult fighting and so it's taking some time.

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McGurk said the SDF is also taking care of the civilian population, noting that 1,400 noncombatants have been taken out or injured over the past week.

The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against IS in Syria, but those operations are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the United Nations Security Council.