Battle For Raqqa Reaches ‘Final Stages’

The battle for the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group’s de-facto Syria capital, Raqqa, has reached its “final stages,” the US-backed force leading the assault said Wednesday. The Syrian Democratic Forces captured Raqqa’s last grain silos from the militants in a surprise offensive on the city’s northern neighborhoods, mounted five days ago, the group said in a statement, AP reported. The US and its international coalition partners intensified their air raids on the militants’ last remaining enclave, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. The US also has hundreds of forces embedded with the Syrian fighters who provide artillery fire and other support. Just 300 to 400 militants remain in Raqqa, according to the Observatory. The SDF control 90% of the north Syrian city.