ISIS offering stiff resistance in Raqqa, crumbling everywhere else

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-idUSKBN1AQ1C2

The Syrian Kurdish Commander of the YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces expects that a long battle is to be expected to take Raqqa city from ISIS.

The Syrian Democratic Forces have surrounded the city of Raqqa and have made retreat impossible for ISIS from the city. Though pundits expected the city to fall quickly, ISIS is fighting tooth and nail for every street and building, just as they did in Mosul.

Meanwhile, Syrian Arab Army gains against ISIS are steadily increasing. Areas to north and east of As-Sukhnah are being cleared out, and the current momentum suggests ISIS may be cleared out of Syria by the end of the year.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/deir-ezzor-mother-battles-july-25-2017-video-map-update/

Unlike in Iraq, once ISIS is driven out of Syria, it is unlikely to return, provided Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his government remain in power. By the end of the year, ISIS is likely to withdraw from eastern Syria back into western Iraq, to launch its next phase: provoking instability in the Arabian Gulf, south of Iraq.

Further concerns are what will happen in Syria should ISIS be defeated, and whether war between the Kurds, Turkey and Syria will break out. In any case, it may be that, with no ISIS in Syria in the future, US military will have no choice but to withdraw:

http://www.newsweek.com/russia-military-force-us-out-syria-army-official-640650

After the war, it is likely Bashar Al-Assad will continue to rebuild his country, with Iranian, Russian, Chinese and Qatari financial assistance - and watch as the terror organization which once plagued his country would be now plaguing the Arabian Gulf. Assad is likely to rule over the nation until the day he dies.