US-backed group fights govt forces in new Syria front

Air strikes target Iran-backed militia aiding Syrian army in strategically vital north-east

BEIRUT/AMMAN - Fighters from a US-backed, Kurdish-led coalition battled Syrian government forces in north-eastern Syria early on Dec 4, both sides said, opening a new front for President Bashar al-Assad, who lost Aleppo in a sudden rebel advance last week.

Air strikes also targeted Iran-backed militia groups supporting Syrian government forces in the strategically vital region, a security source in eastern Syria and a Syrian army source said.

The sources both blamed the air strikes on the US-led military coalition which operates against ISIS and has a small detachment of American troops on the ground. Reuters could not independently confirm the foreign force was involved in the strikes, and the coalition did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The fighting around a cluster of villages across the Euphrates River from regional capital Deir al-Zor complicates the military picture for Mr Assad, whose forces were focused overnight on staunching a renewed rebel assault near Hama.

Last week's rebel assault that captured Aleppo - Syria's largest city before the war - is the biggest offensive for years in a conflict whose front lines had been frozen since 2020.

Residents of Aleppo said there were already shortages in the city days after its capture. Reuters photographs showed long, chaotic queues for bread.

"There is no bread. The ovens are closed. The queues are getting longer," said Mr Mohammed Taha, 35.

Fuel supplies were also restricted, and petrol station owner Mohammed Aatro said taxi drivers had hiked their prices in response. "We are coming to winter, and most of the gas stations aren't working," he said.