US armored vehicles patrol in the town of Qahtaniyad in the Northeast of Syria (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, said that over the next few weeks, the pace will pick up against the remnants of ISIS. Recently, President Donald Trump ordered US troops in Iraq to move into eastern Syria to protect the region's oil fields from ISIS. 

The resumption follows an October 26 special forces operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Another catalyst for the mobilization of the joint forces was a Defense Intelligence Agency report released last week stating that ISIS forces would try to regroup in Syria while pressure from US-Kurdish forces was diminished.