US-supported forces breach wall of Raqqa

US-backed Syrian forces have breached the wall around Raqqa’s Old City, the US military said on Tuesday, marking a major advance in the weeks-old battle to drive Islamic State militants out of their self-declared capital.

The US Central Command said the coalition conducted targeted strikes on two “small portions” of the Rafiqah Wall, allowing the fighters “to advance into the most heavily fortified portion” of the city. It said the strikes allowed SDF fighters to bypass booby traps and snipers, and left most of the 2,500-metre wall intact.

The head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdurrahman, said the breaching of the wall was the most important development to date in the battle for Raqqa. He said three SDF units advanced toward the wall under air cover, breaking through the IS defences, and that heavy clashes were underway.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launched a multipronged assault on Raqqa last month after securing the surrounding countryside. On Sunday, the US-backed fighters crossed the Euphrates River on the southern edge of the city, completing its encirclement.

The US-led coalition is providing close air support to the SDF, which has already driven the extremists from much of northern and eastern Syria.

Several IS leaders were once based in Raqqa, where the group

is believed to have plotted attacks in Europe. The loss of the northern Syrian city, one of the last IS strongholds, would deal a major blow to the group. The militants are also on the verge of losing their last foothold in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where they declared an Islamic caliphate three years ago.

ACTIVISTS SAY TURKISH SHELLING KILLS THREE

Syrian activists said Turkish forces and allied Syrian fighters have shelled northern Syrian villages controlled by a Kurdish militia, killing a woman and two children.

The Kurdish-run Hawar news agency said on Tuesday the overnight shelling struck an area near Afrin, a Kurdish-controlled enclave.