VICTORY AS ISIS FALLS IN RAQQA
Militias claim triumph in Syria terror ‘capital’
After a four-month battle, USbacked militias on Friday declared the “total liberation” of Raqqa, which had been the de facto capital of ISIS in northern Syria.
Talal Silo, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, claimed a “historic victory” over the jihadists and said the extremist group had suffered a “brutal” defeat, CNN reported.
The SDF handed over administration of the devastated city to a council made up of local officials and tribal leaders and a 3,000strong US-trained police force tasked with governance and security.
“Our victory is one against terrorism, and the liberation of Raqqa marks the latest chapter in the fight against terrorists in Syria,” Silo said in a ceremony at a soccer stadium where ISIS militants had tortured prisoners.
SDF commanders told CNN that the victory celebration was held at the stadium to add insult to injury following the extremist group’s defeat there.
The United Nations and aid organizations estimate that about 80 percent of the city is destroyed or uninhabitable.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson congratulated the Syrian people and the SDF on the city’s liberation, which came a few months after the Iraqi city of Mosul was wrested from the jihadists.
In a statement released Friday, Tillerson said the US was proud to lead the 73-member coalition in the fight against ISIS, while cautioning that “our work is far from over.”
Silo said 655 local and international fighters lost their lives fighting ISIS during the long bat- tle. He said residents will be allowed to start returning to the city once mines and other explosives are removed.
The fall of Raqqa marks a major defeat for ISIS, which has seen its territories steadily shrink since last year.
The extremists took over the city, on the Euphrates River, in January 2014 and turned it into the epicenter of their brutal rule.
Kurdish-led authorities in other parts of northern Syria are al- ready proceeding with plans to establish the federal system in areas they control, kicking off a three-phase election process last month in Kurdish-majority regions, according to Reuters.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is regaining territory with Iranian and Russian military support, has said the state will recover control over the entire country, which has been fractured by six years of conflict.