US-backed Syrian militia makes gains against IS militant group

BEIRUT: A Kurdish and Arab Syrian militia backed by the United States has captured the town of Karama as it prepares for an assault on the IS stronghold of Raqqa that it expects to take place in early April, it said on Sunday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has trapped Raqqa in a shrinking pocket of territory on the northern bank of the Euphrates and has advanced towards it in a multi-pronged offensive over several months.

Dejwar Khabat, a field commander with the SDF, said he expects the assault on Raqqa to begin in early April, affirming a timeline reported by Reuters earlier this month, after the U.S.backed militia closes the gap on the city on more fronts.

He was answering Reuters questions in a press conference with local reporters in Karama, the last significant town to the east of Raqqa, which lies about 18km away along the Euphrates.

Another thrust of the SDF advance has already reached a few kilometres from Raqqa in the northeast.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the SDF had almost completely captured Karama but that clashes between it and IS were still going on.

To the west of Raqqa, the SDF is aiming to capture the town of Tabqa on the south bank of the Euphrates, along with a nearby dam and airbase after US helicopters helped the militia’s fighters establish a bridgehead across the river last week. Khabat said the SDF has besieged the airbase, but the Observatory said it was still several kilometres away.