Iraqi Forces Retake Akashat Area on Syrian Border from ISIS

The Iraqi Army announced in a statement that it has pushed back ISIS forces from the border area with Syria located west of the Euphrates River. According to the report, the city of Akashat in western Anbar province was completely taken by Iraqi forces on Saturday, September 16. The army and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) launched an operation on Saturday aimed at driving ISIS forces out of the border areas with Syria. The operation to liberate the Akashat area began from the northwest of the city of Rutba and west of Anbar province. The Akashat area has gas reserves. Now, with the expulsion of ISIS from the Akashat area, the path to liberate the remaining urban areas along the Euphrates has become clearer. According to Reuters, prior to the start of this operation, Iraqi aircraft dropped thousands of leaflets over the cities of Akashat, Al-Qaim, Anah, and Rawah, urging ISIS forces to surrender. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army and Iranian-backed militias, with air support from the Russian Air Force on the other side of the border, have also pushed back ISIS forces. U.S.-backed forces in Syria are engaged with ISIS from another axis and have moved closer to the border with Iraq. ISIS declared the establishment of its caliphate in 2014 in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. This caliphate, which included Syria and Iraq, was severely weakened in July of this year with the loss of Mosul. Currently, areas of Hawija province in northern Iraq are the only residential areas under ISIS control in the country. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army and its allies managed to break the three-year siege of Deir ez-Zor city this month, delivering a heavy blow to ISIS forces. U.S.-backed forces are also simultaneously fighting ISIS in the same area.