Summary
Syrian government forces were poised to advance into the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa province and allied Russian jets kept up airstrikes on rebel-held towns north of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday.
An advance into Raqqa would re-establish a Syrian government foothold in the province for the first time since 2014 and may be aimed at preempting any move by Saudi Arabia to send ground forces to fight ISIS militants in Syria.
Russia has said it will keep bombing ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which in many areas of western Syria fights government forces in close proximity to insurgents deemed moderates by Western states.
Helped by Russian air power, the Syrian army and its allies have been pursuing offensives on crucial front lines of western Syria, while also attacking ISIS further east.
The ultra-hardline ISIS, whose main aim is to expand its "caliphate" rather than toppling Assad and reforming Syria, is being targeted in separate campaigns by a U.S.-led alliance and the Syrian government with Russian air support.
The Syrian government has said that any foreign forces in the country without its consent will be fought.
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