A spokeswoman for a Kurdish-led force fighting the
Islamic State group in northern Syria says they are the verge of
surrounding a wide area north of the IS stronghold of
Raqqa.
Cihan Ehmed of the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces told The
Associated Press Thursday that their fighters are pushing on two
fronts north of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS' self-declared
caliphate.
She said once the forces coming from the two directions meet,
they will surround 550 square kilometers (212 square miles) of
territory controlled by the extremists.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said many
people are fleeing areas north of Raqqa because of the
fighting.
The SDF says they have committed 30,000 fighters to the
offensive, aiming to eventually take Raqqa.