US State Dept. Says Working With Pentagon To Ensure Success Of Operation Roundup In Syria

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th September, 2018) The US Department of State will continue to work closely with the Department of Defense to ensure the success of the final phase of Operation Roundup in Syria, spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a press briefing.

"The State Department will continue to work closely with our Department of Defense colleagues to ensure the success of this operation," Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the International Coalition for Operation Inherent Resolve announced that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces had launched an offensive against the remaining members of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) who are operating in northeast Syria.

The goal of Operation Roundup is to clear the last remaining Islamic State-held pockets in the city of Hajin in the Abu Kamal district and in the Dayr Az Zawr countryside east of the Euphrates River.

Operation Roundup began on May 1. The first phase of the mission successfully eliminated the Islamic State near Baghuz in northeastern Syria on May 15. Phase two cleared the Islamic State from Dashisha, Syria on July 20.

Nauert said the State Department will continue to work with coalition partners to support initiatives that enable Syrians to voluntarily and safely return to their homes to prevent the reemergence of the terrorist threat in the region.

The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The coalition's operations in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi officials, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council.