Photos: US backed Syrian militia reclaim Raqqa as IS mounts last stand
Updated On Sep 26, 2017 03:39 PM IST
Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the US claim they are in the final leg of an offensive to clear the last remaining Islamic State (IS) fighters holed up in their crumbling stronghold of Raqqa, having already retaken 80% of the city.
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Updated on Sep 26, 2017 03:39 PM IST
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) walks through debris on the eastern frontline of Raqqa on September 25, 2017. Syrian fighters, backed by US Special Forces, are battling to clear the last remaining Islamic State (IS) fighters holed up in their crumbling stronghold of Raqqa. ‘We control 80% of Raqqa and the other 20% is in the firing line of our forces,’ said Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the ‘Wrath of the Euphrates’ campaign. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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Updated on Sep 26, 2017 03:39 PM IST
Displaced Syrians from Deir Ezzor head to refugee camps on the outskirts of Raqqa on September 24, 2017. Tens of thousands have fled Raqqa in recent months, some of them escaping as the SDF worked to encircle the city before finally breaking into it in June. But UN estimates say that up to 15,000 civilians could remain in parts of Raqqa, facing ‘incredibly difficult conditions’, including shortages of food, water and medicine. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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Near the city’s large grain silos, SDF fighters urged civilians who fear IS snipers to emerge from their homes. Fleeing is a dangerous undertaking, with IS snipers regularly opening fire on escaping civilians and routes out strewn with mines. With the Kurdish YPG militia at its forefront, the SDF has closed in from three directions. ‘As the noose tightens, the reaction of Daesh gets fiercer’, Ahmed said. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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Updated on Sep 26, 2017 03:39 PM IST
US-led coalition air strikes hit near the silos and stadium on Thursday, sending clouds of grey smoke into the air above. ‘There are tunnels that connect several strategic places. She said IS fighters had holed up inside the Raqa national hospital, the local sports stadium and several parks nearby. We’re trying to seize the national hospital but Daesh is holding civilians inside it as human shields and that is slowing our progress.’ she added. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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A heavily wounded member of the Syrian Democratic Forces smiles as he arrives at a medical centre on the eastern frontline of Raqqa on September 24, 2017. The sporadic sound of gun and mortar fire could be heard, but among the SDF spirits were running high. SDF commander Rojda Felat said the remaining IS fighters in the city ‘no longer have the ability to launch attacks or dispatch car bombs.’ (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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Earlier this month, Physicians for Human Rights said that a poorly-equipped hospital was the last medical facility operating in the city. The New York-based group said intense bombing by the US led coalition had hit civilian facilities. The coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties during bombing runs in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. The ‘caliphate’ that Islamic State declared in 2014, spanning both countries, lost its de-facto Iraqi capital of Mosul in July when Iraqi forces took the city. (Delil Souleiman / AFP)
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IS has lost much of its territory in Syria this year under offensives by the SDF and the Russia-backed Syrian military. Its fighters have fallen back to its last major footholds --the cities and towns in the fertile strip along the Euphrates. SDF officials estimate that 700-1,000 Islamic State fighters are holed up in a pocket in the city. Ahmed said she did not expect them to surrender and the SDF would never allow them passage out. (Delil Souleiman / AFP)
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Updated on Sep 26, 2017 03:39 PM IST