These Are The Men And Women Who Defeated ISIS In Raqqa

Militia fighters resting and preparing to return to the front line in eastern Raqqa. Credit Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

New York Times: ‘Come Out and Surrender’: Inside Raqqa, With the Fighters Who Drove Off ISIS

RAQQA, Syria — From the top-floor sniper position in western Raqqa, members of an American-backed militia scanned the ground for any signs of movement.

“We have hot soup, we have bread: Come out and surrender,” one of the fighters said on a loudspeaker. “The ISIS members and their families who surrendered to us are safe.”

I was one of a handful of journalists who accompanied the militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, for about 10 days. Twice I went to the front lines in the city, which has been largely liberated after a four-month battle. I talked to civilians who had endured Islamic State rule for more than four years and survived.

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WNU Editor: Some of these stories and pictures are gripping.