ISIS driven back

Allied push in Raqqa

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

Coalition forces struck two “small portions” of the Rafiqah Wall, US Central Command said, allowing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces “to advance into the most heavily fortified part of the city,” bypassing booby traps and snipers.

The strikes left most of the 2,500yard 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 that three SDF units advanced toward the wall under air cover, breaking through ISIS defenses, and that heavy clashes were underway.

Vi de o p rov id e d by the SDF showed its f ighters ro a ming Qasr a l - Banat , ah i s t o r i c q u a r t e r in s i d e Raqqa’s Ol d Ci t y.

ISIS militants were using the Rafiqah Wall as a fighting position, and had planted explosives at several openings. The coalition forces were making every effort to protect civilians and preserve the wall, the US military said.

UN off icials say up to 100,000 civilians remain in the city amid “dire” conditions. Those who try to escape risk being attacked by ISIS militants or forcibly recruited as human shields.

The coalition forces are providing close air support to the SDF, which has already driven the extremists from much of northern and eastern Syria.