{"id":66853,"date":"2018-09-12T00:40:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T00:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/12\/us-backed-group-in-last-push-to-defeat-isis-in-northeast-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:42:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:42:52","slug":"us-backed-group-in-last-push-to-defeat-isis-in-northeast-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/09\/12\/us-backed-group-in-last-push-to-defeat-isis-in-northeast-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"US-backed group in last push to defeat ISIS in northeast Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIRUT \u2014 A U.S.-backed Syrian fighting force said Tuesday it has begun the final stage of its campaign to clear Islamic State group militants<\/a> from northeast Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, at least 21 pro-government fighters were killed in clashes with the militants in south Syria, underlining the persistent threat posed by the group despite its shrinking footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the 21 fighters, among them Syrian soldiers and foreign militiamen who have been recruited to fight for President Bashar Assad, died Monday night in a battle with ISIS militants in the Safaa desert region at the edges of Sweida province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activist-run pro-government Facebook page Damascus Now, however, reported that only 14 fighters died in the fighting. Such discrepancies on casualty figures are not uncommon in the immediate aftermath of the fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\t