Sustainment Hypothesis

Marine engineers and/or Seabees could have constructed a bridge across the Euphrates to the west of the city on its outskirts -- possibly at the narrow bend in the Euphrates, before it turns north again. Via this route, they are pushing sustainment to a Support Area of some size near the edge of the northern part of the city -- possibly the seized train station. The logistics route probably links Al-Taqqadam Airfield with the MEK Compound east of the city. This is much safer and less of a bottleneck than pushing sustainment across the seized bridges.