Isil cuts soldier holiday time in bid to defend Raqqa

ISIL has cancelled holidays for militants in its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa and is moving headquarters underground as it readies its defences ahead of a feared international assault on the city.

Over the past two weeks, the group has accelerated its drive to defend Raqqa, sources inside the area told The

Daily Telegraph, digging trenches along checkpoints and strengthening a network of underground bunkers. “Isil cancelled holidays, increased the number of shifts, and asked all members to be present – even the administrators,” said a source in regular contact with civilians inside the city.

Although the extremist group is far from defeat, it is under pressure across several battlefronts, losing strongholds including the Iraqi city of Ramadi in December and the ancient town of Palmyra in March.

As Kurdish and Syrian rebel forces prepare to edge towards Raqqa, the city is frequently the target of air strikes by the US-led coalition, as well as the Syrian air force and Russian warplanes that began an air campaign in the country in late September.

In an attempt to block the view of circling drones, the militants have started hanging sheets across shopfronts and homes. They are also believed to have moved several key headquarters underground.

Throughout territory held by Isil, the group has built tunnels. In Beiji, home of a key oil refinery and near the cities of Fallujah and Tikrit, Iraqi sol- diers and Shia militiamen found underground mazes that had been used to burrow under enemy positions, create bunkers or run pipes to export illicit oil shipments.

In the northern city of Sinjar, Kurdish forces said they discovered too many tunnels to count. Flying as part of the US-led coalition, the RAF says it is now using the largest bomb in its inventory – 2,000lb Enhanced Paveway III munitions, known as “bunker busters”.

Col Steve Warren, a spokesman for the coalition, said on Friday he believed Isil had declared a state of emergency in Raqqa. “We know this enemy feels threatened, as they should,” he said. “We are going to continue to keep this pressure on them and we expect to see them collapse eventually.”

But Syrian media activists said reports of a state of emergency were overblown, and life for civilians remained unchanged. “The main difference is that fighters are speaking a lot of the big battle that is coming,” said Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. He said militants were seen piling onto buses, apparently moving them to nearby battlefronts.

On Saturday, Isil overran a government-controlled hospital in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, killing 20 pro-regime forces and taking medical staff hostage as they pushed to cement control of the oil-rich city and its airbase.

Violence continued yesterday as Isil launched a dawn assault on a gas plant north of the Iraqi capital. At least 12 people were killed in the attack.