US-backed SDF enters new area in northern Syria

The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have entered a new area in the city of Raqqah, the last stronghold of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Syria, retaking territory on the southern bank of the Euphrates River.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that the US-backed SDF, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, sealed off the last escape route of Daesh by capturing the territory.

"Today, they entered Raqqah's south for the first time and seized the Al-Hal market," said the observatory's director, Rami Abdel Rahman. "The market is fully under SDF control but IS [Daesh] is waging a counter-attack." 

Abdel Rahman said some SDF fighters had advanced north across the river, while others had attacked Al-Hal from the adjacent district of Al-Meshleb in the east of the city.

The SDF confirmed that it had captured the market.

The fighters have engaged in fierce fighting with Daesh as they push closer in on the city center.

SS