Islamic State trapped by US in Syria

– US-backed forces cut off the last escape route for the Islamic State group from Raqa, trapping the besieged jihadists inside their de facto Syrian capital.

But IS fighters hit back with a counterattack that included suicide bombings against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters trying to seize control of the city.

The SDF captured two villages on the southern bank of the Euphrates River that the jihadists had been passing through to withdraw from the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“The SDF has been able to completely encircle Raqa,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based monitoring group.

It was the latest setback for IS, which has since lost most of the territory it once controlled. – AFP