US-backed Syrian forces advance in Islamic State's capital

In Syria, US-backed Syrian forces have advanced into the western part of the Islamic State's capital of Raqqa.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said, the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, have captured the western half of the Al-Sabahiya neighbourhood and are reinforcing their positions there.

The SDF also said the move had opened up a second front inside the Syrian city. A statement from the SDF's Operation Wrath of the Euphrates said its fighters had stormed Al-Romaniya and were locked in fierce fighting



inside the district. 

The SDF, supported by US-led coalition air strikes, has spent months encircling the city. After its capture by IS in 2014, Raqa city emerged as a key hub for IS's operations in Syria, neighbouring Iraq and beyond.

An estimated 300,000 civilians were believed to have been living under IS rule in Raqa, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria. Thousands have fled in recent months, and the UN humanitarian office estimates about 160,000 people remain in the city.