The battle for control of the Islamic State group's de facto capital Raqqa, in northern Syria, will begin "within days," a spokeswoman for a U.S.-backed Syrian force at the city's edges said Saturday. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are already encamped around the city's northern and eastern divisions and on Saturday made new progress against IS militants to approach the city from the south bank of the Euphrates River.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WBT-AM Charlotte.</s>BEIRUT U.S.-backed Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State will announce the start date for the final assault on Raqqa city on Tuesday, aiming to oust the militants from their de facto capital in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday.The SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. On Saturday the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, part of the SDF, told Reuters the fifth and final stage of the attack would start in the coming few days.

"The SDF will announce tomorrow the date of the start of the fifth stage of the campaign to liberate Raqqa which will include an assault on the city of Raqqa," the SDF said in a statement.In the past week the SDF has advanced to within a few kilometers of the city's edge, after gradually encircling Raqqa since November in a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from the city where it has planned attacks on the West.

On Monday it took some of the final few villages to the west of the city which is located on the River Euphrates some 90 km (56 miles) from the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

"The (SDF) will enter the city and begin attacking Raqqa directly," Ibrahim Ibrahim, head of the Syrian Kurdish PYD party's media centre in Europe, told Reuters. The PYD is the political arm of the YPG.The assault on Raqqa will pile more pressure on Islamic State's self-declared caliphate with the group facing defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and being forced into retreat across much of Syria, where Deir al-Zor is its last major foothold. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>Syrian Democratic Forces fighters ride on vehicles in the north of Raqqa city, Syria, February 5 (Reuters file photo)

BEIRUT — US-backed Syrian militias said they seized a major dam on the Euphrates River from the Daesh extremists on Sunday, their latest gain as they push towards Raqqa city.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said they captured the Baath Dam in the morning, renaming it Freedom Dam. The hydroelectric facility lies 22 kilometres upstream of Raqqa, where the Daesh group’s operations in Syria are based.

The spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF’s key component, said fighters were combing nearby villages for mines and shoring up their defensive lines. “The dam has been completely liberated,” Nouri Mahmoud said.

The advance means the SDF now hold all three major dams along the Euphrates, after gaining control of Syria’s largest dam last month.

With air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition, the SDF have been encircling Raqqa, which Daesh has used as a hub to plan attacks abroad.

The operation to storm the city will start in the next “few days”, Mahmoud said on Saturday. The Raqqa assault will pile more pressure on the extremist group’s self-declared “caliphate” as it faces defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and retreats across much of Syria.

The Daesh group still controls swathes of Syria’s eastern desert bordering Iraq and most of Deir Ezzor province, which would be its last major foothold in Syria after losing Raqqa.

The SDF has advanced in recent months to within several kilometres of the centre of Raqqa, facing fierce resistance from Daesh.

Fighting since late last year has displaced tens of thousands of people, United Nations sources say, with many flooding camps in the area and others stranded in the desert.

The UN human rights office has raised concerns about increasing reports of civilian deaths as air strikes escalate. The Raqqa campaign has “resulted in massive civilian casualties, displacement, and serious infrastructure destruction” so far, it said in a May report.

The Daesh militants have also reportedly forbidden civilians from leaving, it added.

The United States-led coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs in Syria and Iraq.</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian militias said they seized a major dam on the Euphrates river from Islamic State on Sunday, their latest gain as they push towards Raqqa city.

FILE PHOTO: Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters ride on vehicles in the north of Raqqa city, Syria February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo

The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said they captured the Baath Dam in the morning, renaming it Freedom Dam. The hydroelectric facility lies 22 kilometers upstream of Raqqa, where Islamic State’s operations in Syria are based.

The spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF’s key component, said fighters were combing nearby villages for mines and shoring up their defensive lines. “The dam has been completely liberated,” Nouri Mahmoud said.

The advance means the SDF now hold all three major dams along the Euphrates, after gaining control of Syria’s largest dam last month.

With air strikes and special forces from the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF have been encircling Raqqa, which Islamic State has used as a hub to plan attacks abroad.

The operation to storm the city will start in the next “few days”, Mahmoud said on Saturday. The Raqqa assault will pile more pressure on the jihadist group’s self-declared “caliphate” as it faces defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and retreats across much of Syria.

Islamic State still controls swathes of Syria’s eastern desert bordering Iraq and most of Deir al-Zor province, which would be its last major foothold in Syria after losing Raqqa.

The SDF has advanced in recent months to within several kilometers (miles) of the center of Raqqa, facing fierce resistance from Islamic State.

Fighting since late last year has displaced tens of thousands of people, United Nations sources say, with many flooding camps in the area and others stranded in the desert.

The U.N. human rights office has raised concerns about increasing reports of civilian deaths as air strikes escalate. The Raqqa campaign has “resulted in massive civilian casualties, displacement, and serious infrastructure destruction” so far, it said in a May report.

Islamic State militants have also reportedly forbidden civilians from leaving, it added.

The United States-led coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs in Syria and Iraq.</s>Sick jihadis who claim there is honour in murder and death took flight from a strategic town on route to Raqqa. And many of the unit that ran the fanatics out of their Al-Mansoura stronghold were women.

The town fell on Friday after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops burst into the area. In a bid to reduce civilian casualties, ISIS terrorists were asked by the SDF to take the chance to run and avoid battle – and the jihadis grabbed the opportunity with both hands and fled. The militants left so quickly they abandoned a huge cache of weapons, including tanks.

Experts claim the items left behind clearly belong to the front-line fighters. Female snipers were positioned around the town to ensure all ISIS fighters were gone as troops moved in. Express.co.uk has been handed footage of the shocking discovery of abandoned tanks, which would be important to the so-called caliphate. Now, with this town captured, the SDF controls the two most important towns outside Raqqa - Asadiyah and Mansoura.

If the battle in Raqqa, which is the self-claimed capital of ISIS, is led from the southern end, it will be the men and women in charge of these areas leading troops into the heart of the terror group. Jehan Sheikh Ahmed, spokesperson for the SDF forces involved in Operation Wrath of Euphrates (the assault on Raqqa), said forces have "a lot of strong momentum in their effort to liberate Raqqa from Daesh" and that "the plan is going as it was arranged". She said: "The morale of Wrath of Euphrates fighters is very high, especially after the liberation of Tabqa and the Euphrates Dam, and because of the solidarity shown by the Syrian people towards those fighters." The SDF announced the Raqqa offensive in November 2016 and the militants have now achieved a major milestone in the fight.</s>BEIRUT, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian militias said they seized a major dam on the Euphrates river from Islamic State on Sunday, their latest gain as they push towards Raqqa city.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said they captured the Baath Dam in the morning, renaming it Freedom Dam. The hydroelectric dam lies some 22 km upstream of Raqqa, Islamic State's base of operations in Syria.

The spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF's key component, said fighters were combing nearby villages for mines and shoring up their defensive lines. "The dam has been completely liberated," Nouri Mahmoud said.

The advance means the SDF now hold all three major dams along the Euphrates, after gaining control of Syria's largest dam last month.

With air strikes and special forces from the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF have been encircling Raqqa to take the city, which Islamic State has used as a hub to plan attacks abroad.

The alliance advanced in recent months to within several kilometres (miles) of the centre of Raqqa, facing fierce resistance from Islamic State. Fighting since late last year has displaced tens of thousands of people according to United Nations sources, with many flooding camps in the area.

The operation to storm the city will start in the next "few days", Mahmoud had said on Saturday. The Raqqa assault will pile more pressure on the jihadist group's self-declared "caliphate" as it faces defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and retreats across much of Syria.

Islamic State still controls swathes of Syria's eastern deserts bordering Iraq and most of Deir al-Zor province, which would be its last major foothold in Syria they lose Raqqa. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Catherine Evans)</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian militias said they seized a major dam on the Euphrates river from Islamic State on Sunday, their latest gain as they push toward Raqqa city.

 Original Article</s>Beirut: A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance has seized new territory west of the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion Raqqa, bringing it closer to a final attack on the city, a monitor said on Saturday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an operation to capture Raqqa in northern Syria last November, and have since surrounded the city from the north and east while closing in from the west.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the SDF captured the town of Mansura late on Friday and the adjacent Baath Dam on the Euphrates River, around 20 kilometres west of Raqqa on Saturday.

SDF spokesman Talal Sello confirmed the force was advancing on the western front without providing details.

"This advance will allow the SDF to expand its control on the southern banks of the Euphrates River and stabilise the western front of Raqqa before launching the final battle to expel Islamic State from the city," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"We're nearing the major battle," he added.

Abdel Rahman said combing operations were ongoing in Mansura and at the dam to "dismantle mines and search for remaining jihadists".

Sello told AFP the advances on the western front were part of the final stage of operations before the launch of the assault on Raqqa itself.

He said the SDF had received "weapons and advanced equipment from the international coalition... as part of preparations for the launch of the battle for Raqqa, which is close".

Sello said the SDF would launch the attack from the north, west and east of Raqqa.

"The SDF has already completed the siege from the northern and eastern sides and is working to complete the siege from the west," he added.

The SDF is fighting with broad support from the US-led coalition, which has provided air cover, assistance from special forces on the ground, and weaponry.

SDF fighters are now just a few kilometres from the city on the north, east and western fronts, with all major routes into the city severed.

Islamic State fighters are still able to move out of the city to the south, however, crossing the Euphrates river by boat before continuing on through the desert.

The SDF is not expected to try to seal the southern route before launching its final assault.

"The SDF doesn't need to isolate Raqqa from the south, because the international coalition's planes can target any jihadists as they cross the river," Abdel Rahman said.</s>The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they are in control of 90% of the town of Mansoura. Photo: Reuters

Beirut: US-backed Syrian forces say they are close to capturing an Islamic State-held town that lies halfway between the former IS-stronghold of Tabqa and its de facto capital, Raqqa, in northern Syria.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they are in control of 90% of the town of Mansoura, approximately 26km southwest of Raqqa.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the SDF has been engaged in fierce fighting with IS militants along the southern bank of the Euphrates River, around Mansoura. The river leads to Raqqa.

The US has backed the SDF with weapons, air power, and ground support in its campaign to defeat the IS group in Syria. Its target for now is Raqqa, which has been held by the militants since 2014.</s>U.S.-backed Arab-Kurdish forces will "very soon" launch their campaign to liberate Raqqa, the Islamic State (IS) militant group's self-declared capital in Syria.

Spokeswoman Cihan Sheikh Ehmed of the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces on June 3 said the SDF will “very soon” begin the battle for Raqqa, which is situated on the northern side of the Euphrates River about 90 kilometers from the Turkish border.

The comments come at a time when U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces say they are close to fully liberating Mosul, the final significant IS stronghold in Iraq.

IS fighters captured wide swathes of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014 in battles against government troops.

U.S.-led coalition forces in both countries have made major gains against the group, which is putting up fierce resistance as they cling to their last bits of territory in their so-called “caliphate” in the region.

The SDF fighters have taken positions around Raqqa ‘s northern and eastern sectors and report they are making progress against IS extremists on the south bank of the Euphrates.

Nouri Mahmoud, a spokesman for YPG – a key element of the SDF coaltion – told Reuters news agency that "forces reached the outskirts of the city, and the major operation will start...in the coming few days."

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Colonel Ryan Dillon, would not confirm the timeframe but said SDF fighters were "advancing closer and closer every day" and were within 3 kilometers of Raqqa.

Coalition officials estimate there are 3,000 to 4,000 IS fighters remaining in Raqqa preparing for the assault.

"The battle will not be easy," the YPG’s Mahmoud said. "Of course [IS] has tunnels, mines, car bombs, suicide bombers, and at the same time it is using civilians as human shields."

Along with the battle against IS, Syria is embroiled in a six-year civil war. Russia and Iran support the government of President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States and Turkey back differing rebel groups.

Turkey is opposed to the YPG, which it links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

With reporting by AP and Reuters
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) take control of the Baath Dam on the Euphrates, near the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa, and upon doing so, rename it "Freedom Dam".