US-backed forces close in on IS bastion

– For three years, Syrian-Kurdish fighter Sevger Himo has been itching to witness the Islamic State group’s demise. Now, in the heart of Raqa city, he has a front-row seat.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they have entered “the final stages” in their offensive for IS’s notorious Syrian bastion.

After cornering the jihadists in a handful of positions in Raqa’s city centre, they are now pressing their assault in streets strewn with rubble and neighbourhoods reduced to piles of smashed concrete and metal.

“When we were fighting Daesh (IS) in Kobane three years ago, we always used to talk about how the capital of the caliphate is Raqa,” says Himo, a local commander with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which make up a bulk of the SDF.

Sitting cross-legged on a rooftop in the heavily damaged northeastern district of Rumeilah, Himo says he has a personal stake in seeing this blistering battle through to its end.

Alongside other YPG fighters, Himo faced off against IS in late 2014 in Kobane, a strategic town on Syria’s northern border with Turkey, then in the town of Manbij to the south.

“We used to tell each other, ‘Daesh sent reinforcements, support, and equipment from Raqa!’” he says.

“Now we’re in the centre of Raqa and it’s a completely different feeling,” Himo says. – AFP