U.S.-backed Syrian militias
have taken the historic old city of Raqqa and its ancient mosque as they
press their offensive to defeat Islamic State, the U.S.-led coalition
said on Monday.
The
Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias,
said last week it had captured the final districts in Raqqa’s old city
from Islamic State.
With
the help of U.S.-led jets and special forces, the SDF has been battling
to capture Raqqa city, which Islamic State used as a base of operations
in Syria. The SDF pushed into the city in June after fighting for
months to encircle it.
The
walled old city lies in the heart of Raqqa, but Islamic State militants
still control districts in the west of the city. The SDF says it holds
65 percent of Raqqa in total.
“The
SDF have made consistent incremental gains in the urban terrain of the
city, fighting block by block,” said U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a
spokesman for the United States-led coalition against Islamic State.
The
statement said the SDF has cleared the Great Mosque of Raqqa, its
oldest mosque, describing the advance as “a milestone” in the Raqqa
battle.
SDF
fighters have waged fierce battles with slow progress against Islamic
State in Raqqa’s old city since early July, when the U.S. coalition
breached its walls with air strikes.
A
war monitoring group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, said last week that the SDF held more than 90 percent of Raqqa’s
old city.