[Published here October 16, 2017]
Raqa (Syria) (AFP) – Once the last Islamic State group fighters are ousted from Syria’s Raqa, the unconventional forces battling the jihadists say they’ll have batteries and masking tape to thank for their victory.
Author: Maya Gebeily
Far from front line, volunteers prepare to rebuild Raqa | AFP
[Published here on October 13, 2017]
Ain Issa (Syria) (AFP) – As US-backed forces fight to oust the Islamic State group from its last hideouts in Syria’s Raqa, a city council-in-exile is already working to bring life back to its devastated home town.
Civilians pour out of Syria’s Raqa as bombing intensifies | AFP
[Published here October 12, 2017]
Dozens of desperate civilians streamed out of battlefront districts of Syria’s Raqa on Thursday after a ferocious resumption in bombardment against Islamic State group holdouts in the city.
Anti-IS force says near ‘final’ week of Raqa fight | AFP
[Published here on October 9, 2017]
Raqa (Syria) (AFP) – US-backed fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from Syria’s Raqa were nearing the “final week” of their assault, the campaign’s commander told AFP on Sunday. Continue reading
Trapped in Syria’s Raqa, civilians become human shields for IS | AFP
[Published here October 9, 2017]
Hawi al-Hawa (Syria) (AFP) – As fighters from the Islamic State group retreat into a shrinking part of Syria’s Raqa, they are dragging along terrified civilians for cover against a ferocious US-backed onslaught.
As Syria’s Raqa battle nears end, road to rescue lengthens | AFP
[Published here October 5, 2017]
Raqa (Syria) (AFP) – “Don’t close your eyes. Stay awake!” the anti-jihadist Syrian fighter yelled at his injured comrade as a Humvee whisked them across the Islamic State group’s former stronghold Raqa. Continue reading
US-backed force scours former IS fort in Raqa | AFP
[Published here October 2, 2017]
RAQA (SYRIA) (AFP) – US-backed fighters on Monday combed through a central district of Syria’s Raqa that once housed key Islamic State group command centres, recovering communication equipment and weapons used by the jihadists.
US-backed force tightens noose on IS-held Raqa hospital | AFP
[Published here October 1, 2017]
Raqa (Syria) (AFP) – US-backed fighters were tightening the noose on Sunday around Islamic State group jihadists holed up in Raqa’s national hospital, one of the last IS-held positions in the Syrian city.
Losing Syria bastion, IS lashes out behind front lines | AFP
[Published here on September 30, 2017]
Just after sunrise outside Syria’s Raqa, dozens of Islamic State group jihadists donned Kurdish military uniforms, piled into cars with weapons, and broke back into a district they lost control of months ago.
Cornered in Raqa, IS breathing ‘last gasps’: coalition commander | AFP
[Published here on September 29, 2017]
US-led coalition compound near Kobane (Syria) (AFP) – Ousting the last Islamic State group fighters from Raqa will be tough, but the jihadists are breathing their “last gasps” in their Syrian bastion, a senior US-led coalition commander told AFP.
MAYA GEBEILY 