A spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces tells reporters that operations have begun in coordination with the U. S.-led coalition
A U. S.-backed Syrian force said Tuesday that it had begun an offensive to capture the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) group.
Talal Sillo, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told reporters that operations had begun in coordination with the U. S.-led coalition.
SDF fighters began advancing toward Raqqa in November, capturing wide areas from the extremists. Last week, they reached the northern and eastern gates of the city.
Raqqa is currently surrounded from the east, north and west, and opposition activists reported intense shelling on the city since Monday night, which killed at least 12 people.
State news agency SANA reported on Tuesday that the airstrikes by the U. S.-led coalition killed 12, including women and children. It said the families were fleeing the city in boats across the Euphrates River ahead of the expected all-out attack by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 21 people were killed in the Monday night airstrikes, which it said were likely carried out by the U. S.-led coalition.
Airstrikes had intensified in recent weeks as SDF fighters reached the outskirts of the city.
The battle for Raqqa is likely to be long and bloody, and the extremists are not expected to give up easily.
