FILE - Soldiers participating in operation to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from Islamic State militants.
RAQQA PROVINCE, SYRIA/WASHINGTON
U.S.-backed
forces on Friday advanced deeper into areas of north of Raqqa,
continuing their march to the edge of the de facto capital of Islamic
State in Syria.
On the fourth day of the offensive, the Syrian Democratic Forces, an
alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, took control of at least 10
villages and advanced 15 kilometers southward as U.S.-led coalition
airstrikes targeted positions in nearby localities.
“The process is ongoing,” Rojda Judi, a female Kurdish commander who
leads the operation on the ground, told VOA. “But the only thing that is
slowing us is IS has left so many mines behind. We have to clear off
any area before we fully step in.”
The Kurdish-led SDF aims to close in on IS by surrounding IS-held territories from different directions, local officials said.
“We are fighting Daesh on three fronts in northern Raqqa,” said Naser
Mansoor, a Kurdish official in Syria, using the Arabic name for IS.
“In some areas they [IS] just retreat, and in other areas they stay
to fight,” he told VOA via phone from Syria. “But we have killed dozens
of them so far.”
Mansoor said that the level of coordination between the international
coalition and local forces had been advanced and that coalition
airstrikes were key to undermining IS on the ground.
A VOA reporter embedded with the SDF on the front line said that
anti-IS forces are using midrange and heavy weapons against the
militants. IS is firing back, using mortar rounds.
While the ongoing battles are some 40 kilometers away from Raqqa, IS
is preparing for battle inside the city by digging trenches and building
berms, local news reports said Friday.