International News

BEIRUT, June 3, (APP/AFP) – A US-backed alliance has
seized new territory west of the Islamic State group’s Syrian
bastion Raqa, bringing it closer to a final attack on the city,
a monitor said Saturday.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an operation
to capture Raqa in northern Syria last November, and have since
surrounded the city from the north and east while closing in
from the west.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
monitor said the SDF captured the town of Mansura late Friday
and the adjacent Baath Dam on the Euphrates River, around 20
kilometres (10 miles) west of Raqa, on Saturday.
SDF spokesman Talal Sello confirmed the force was advancing
on the western front without providing details.
“This advance will allow the SDF to expand its control on
the southern banks of the Euphrates River and stabilise the western
front of Raqa before launching the final battle to expel IS from the
city,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
“We’re nearing the major battle,” he added.
Abdel Rahman said combing operations were ongoing in Mansura
and at the dam to “dismantle mines and search for remaining
militants”.