Skip linksSkip to Content Live Navigation menuNewsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionSportVideoFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravel Live Live updates, Syria fighting live: SDF braces for Raqqa assault as gov’t troops march onVideo Duration 06 minutes 21 seconds 06:21‘Fierce clashes’ as Syrian Army advances after taking towns held by SDFBy Faisal AliPublished On 18 Jan 2026 Syria’s military says it has captured the strategic town of Tabqah from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during its lightning advance towards the key city of Raqqa in the north. Heavy clashes are reported in areas east of Deir Az Zor as the military says its forces are in full control of Deir Hafer, have captured the Jarrah airbase to the east, and are in the process of clearing mines and explosives.
SRCAl Jazeera
LANGEN
LEANCenter
WORDS129
ENT7
SUN · 2026-01-18 · 06:15 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0118-8316
NSR-2026-0118-8316News Report·EN·Conflict
Syria fighting live: SDF braces for Raqqa assault as gov’t troops march on
On January 18, 2026, the Syrian military announced it had seized the strategic town of Tabqah from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as it advances toward Raqqa in northern Syria. The military reported heavy clashes east of Deir Az Zor, stating its forces are in full control of Deir Hafer and have captured the Jarrah airbase.
Faisal AliAl JazeeraFiled 2026-01-18 · 06:15 GMTLean · CenterRead · 1 min
Al JazeeraFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
129words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
On January 18, 2026, the Syrian military announced it had seized the strategic town of Tabqah from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as it advances toward Raqqa in northern Syria. The military reported heavy clashes east of Deir Az Zor, stating its forces are in full control of Deir Hafer and have captured the Jarrah airbase. Currently, Syrian troops are reportedly clearing mines and explosives in the captured areas. The Syrian government's advance is part of a broader effort to regain control of key cities and strategic locations in the region. The SDF is bracing for a potential assault on Raqqa.
Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 5Entities 7
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Conflict
Political Strategy
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.70 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
5 extracted01
Heavy clashes are reported in areas east of Deir Az Zor.
factual
Confidence
0.90
02
The military says they are in the process of clearing mines and explosives.
factualThe military
Confidence
0.80
03
The military says they have captured the Jarrah airbase to the east.
factualThe military
Confidence
0.80
04
The military says its forces are in full control of Deir Hafer.
factualThe military
Confidence
0.80
05
Syria’s military says it has captured the strategic town of Tabqah from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
factualSyria’s military
Confidence
0.80
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 129 words§ 05
Entities
7 identifiedKey playerOppositionContextPositiveNeutralNegative
People1
Organizations2
§ 06
Keywords & salience
8 termssyria fighting
1.00
sdf
0.90
raqqa assault
0.80
syrian army
0.70
tabqah
0.60
military advance
0.50
deir az zor
0.50
jarrah airbase
0.40
§ 07
Topic connections
Interactive graph No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.