ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The partnered ground forces of the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition are sending mixed signals as they transition into the post-Islamic State (ISIS) direct battle phase.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said an ISIS landmine exploded in the "liberated" city of Raqqa injuring civilians on Wednesday.
Head of the SDF Media Office Mustafa Bali then denied the report and labeled it a "misunderstanding," according to AP.
His Twitter account did not account for the conflicting reports on Thursday.
Three explosions in Raqqa were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Wednesday.
The UK-based monitor blamed them on "a group of ISIS cells." They were described as the result of suicide belts, not landmines.
As ISIS has lost control of its geographical caliphate, analysts are predicting that the group will revert to hit-and-run tactics such as suicide attacks and soft-target bombings.
The SDF declared the "total elimination" of the ISIS caliphate after pushing the group of al-Baghouz, a border town on the Euphrates River near the Iraqi border.