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Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 17:28
Raqqa campaign in final stages, say US-backed militias
By Reuters
Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 17:28 By Reuters

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, walks through a damaged flat in a building in the western al-Daraiya neighborhood of the embattled northern Syrian city of Raqa on Sept 5, 2017. The SDF has said they came under attack on Sept 16, 2017 from Russian jets and Syrian government forces in Deir al-Zor province. (DELIL SOULEIMAN / AFP)

BEIRUT – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Wednesday its campaign to capture Raqqa from Islamic State (IS) was in its final stages and its fighters had seized 80 percent of the city. 

In a statement, the SDF said it had opened a new front against IS on the northern edge of Raqqa, describing this as "a feature of the final stages of the Euphrates Wrath campaign, which is nearing its end". 

READ MORE: Civilians under greater threat as Raqqa fight intensifies, says Amnesty

The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, launched their offensive on Islamic State in Raqqa city in June, backed by US-led air strikes and special forces on the ground. 

The city had served as Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria. 

ALSO READ: Syrian army break Islamic State siege in Deir al-Zour

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that the SDF had taken more than 90 percent of the city, adding that the major remaining hurdle for the forces was a large concentration of mines in the area.

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