Damascus, Nov 7, 2016 (AFP) - The Syrian Al-Watan newspaper, which is close
to the government, on Monday dismissed a new assault on the Islamic State
group's Syrian stronghold of Raqa as a "media" operation.
The daily said the fight, led by the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) was intended to "focus American public opinion on the 'war on terror'
and show the seriousness of the current administration in the fight against
the terrorist group ISIS."
Citing what it described as a "Western diplomatic source in Paris," the
newspaper said the SDF lacked the capacity to fight ISIS "even if they were
backed by Washington and Paris with all their power."
The daily said the operation's "sudden announcement" was intended to "cover
up the inability of the US to make quick and qualitative progress in
cooperation with the Iraqi army in Mosul," citing the same source.
It also said the operation was timed to coincide with the US presidential
elections, which take place Tuesday, especially "with the scandals surrounding
the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton."
The SDF is a key ally of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq and
Syria, where it does not coordinate its strikes with the government in
Damascus.
President Bashar al-Assad's government accuses the US-led coalition of
failing to tackle ISIS in Syria, and alleges that Washington and other
supporters of rebel groups fuel "terrorism" in the country.