Syrian regime takes the last ISIS holdout in the south of the country while US ups pressure on the eastern holdouts.

US backed members of the SDF attend a funeral. AFP.

The Syrian regime has taken the last ISIS holdout in the south of Syria while the United States has brought heavy pressure onto the other holdout area in the east. AFP. Regime forces took control of Tulul al-Safa, which lies between Damascus and Swadia provinces in the southern desert. ISIS fighters withdrew to the east and have abandoned the area, likely under a deal with the regime. The regime had brought reinforcements and were launching heavy airstrikes in the area. ISIS had regained some territory in Swadia province over the summer and launched some major attacks but they have now been pushed out. 

In the east, ISIS's last territory is in Dier Ez Zor province where they are under heavy assault by the United States and local forces. Major airstrikes have occured in the area with local observers reporting civilian casualties. The assault on the ISIS holdouts is slow due to heavy minefields, booby traps and other defenses.

My Comment:

Yet another major defeat for ISIS and one that isn't getting much coverage. With the Swadia pocket eliminated it's pretty clear that the regime isn't going to be focused on fighting ISIS as much. They will likely put some pressure on ISIS in the east, but I am guessing they will leave that fighting to the US backed rebels and Kurds in the area. 

My guess is that the regime will now focus on Idlib province. Indeed, there are signs that the Russia/Turkey peace deal for that region will fall apart. The deal never covered al-Nusra Front, the Jihadists who control most of the province. Those Jihadists, who are almost as bad as ISIS, are continuing the fight and I am guessing that is where Syria's focus is going to be. They will leave some forces to screen against ISIS and may conduct some minor offensives against them, but I am guessing the regime wants to protect their northern flank more. 

As for ISIS, they still control some territory in the east. They have been under a prolonged joint assault with the Kurds and rebels on the ground while the US provides backup through the air and via special forces. It has been somewhat slow going due to fear of casualties and a greater conflict with the Syrian regime. 

The Kurds have also been very worried about Turkish moves in the region. They have been reluctant to put their full force into the battle with ISIS due to fears that the Turks could hit them in their rear areas. Turkey and the Kurds obviously don't get along so those fears are somewhat justified. This has been slowing things down quite a bit. 

ISIS has very few places in the region left to hide in. They have very little left in Syria and even less than that in Iraq. Officially, ISIS has been defeated in Iraq but they still have some presence there, if not any actual territory. Eventually ISIS will run out of places to hide and will have to go completely underground. Once that happens ISIS, in Syria and Iraq at least, will cease to function as anything other than another local terror groups. 

Of course that doesn't mean that ISIS is over though. They still have holdouts in Yemen, Nigeria and Egypt and are also hanging on in Afghanistan. They aren't anywhere near the threat they used to be but they are not dead. If we ignore them they could rise again from the ashes, just as ISIS itself rose from the ashes of al-Qaeda in Iraq... 

Finally, the AFP article mentioned that there may have been heavy "civilian" casualties due to an American airstrike on ISIS. Those civilians were apparently the wives and children of ISIS fighters. That might not make them fair game under international law, but it also means I am not going to mourn for them. The US denies those reports and I am honestly not sure either way. Civilians die all the time in war, even when you try to avoid it, so if something did happen I am going to chalk it up to the fog of war and nothing else.