Battle Against The Islamic State In Raqqa Is Now In Its 'Final Stages'

AFP: US-backed force says 'victory near' against IS in Syria's Raqa

Syrian fighters backed by US special forces battled Thursday to clear the last remaining Islamic State group jihadists holed up in their crumbling stronghold of Raqqa.

"Victory is near" and would be declared in coming weeks, a spokeswoman for the operation to capture Raqqa told AFP in the city where US-led air strikes sent clouds of grey smoke into the air.

Across the border in Iraq, security forces were attacking all remaining territory held by the extremists, who are fighting to prevent the all-out collapse of their self-proclaimed "caliphate".

Most of Raqqa, long a byword for the jihadists' most gruesome atrocities, is now in the hands of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by waves of heavy air strikes by a military coalition led by Washington.

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Update #1: Raqqa faces deadly 'barrage' from US-led coalition (Al Jazeera).
Update #2: Syria war: Assault on IS-held Raqqa in 'final stages' (BBC)

WNU Editor: The U.S. and its allies are going all-out to defeat ISIS in Raqqa. They want this over by the end of this year.