US-backed Syrian forces seize Raqqa neighbourhood

Damascus July 17 (IANS) US-backed Syrian forces on Monday said they seized control of a neighbourhood in Raqqa city the Islamic State (IS) terror group s main stronghold in the war-torn country.

Shervan Derwish a spokesman from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told Efe news agency that his forces captured al-Yarmouk neighbourhood located near the Euphrates river.

After securing the roads in southern Raqqa and the surrounding city the SDF advanced and liberated al-Yarmouk on Sunday according to Derwish.

Meanwhile the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF dominated only the western sector of al-Yarmouk while fighting between both sides continued in al-Raqqa s Old City.

The Britain-based monitoring group added at least three persons including two women were killed on Monday in the US-led international coalition bombings.

Since June 6 the SDF has been fighting the IS in Raqqa. The extremists proclaimed a caliphate in 2014 affecting large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

--IANS
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