U.S.-backed forces claim victory over ISIS in Raqqa, ending the groups grip on its de-facto capital
Source: The Washington Post
By Washington Post Staff October 17 at 8:34 AM
The Islamic State’s defeat in Raqqa, which it captured in 2014, would be a crushing blow to its once-sprawling caliphate. The city in eastern Syria was a potent symbol of the group’s plans to govern swathes of territory — and of the brutal way in which it ruled.
The movement’s reported collapse in Raqqa followed a protracted battle between the extremists and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters aided by U.S. airstrikes. In the assault’s final days, hundreds of Islamic State militants surrendered to the SDF, leaving a handful of foreign fighters in the city.
According to rights groups, much of the city’s infrastructure is destroyed, and some 270,000 civilians remain in camps in surrounding areas.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
###
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2017/10/17/u-s-backed-forces-claim-victory-over-isis-in-raqqa-ending-the-groups-grip-on-its-de-facto-capital-in-syria/?pushid=59e5f8d4fc9a231d00000032&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.a5d2693a4156
= new reply since forum marked as read
