[Iran Press TV] The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has retaken a second district of Syria's troubled and Lion of Islam-held northern city of Raqqah from Takfiri...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
ISIS terrorists, and launched a renewed assault on a base north of the city as they press ahead with an offensive against the holy warriors.
The US-backed SDF, made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, announced in a statement on Sunday that their fighters "liberated the neighborhood of al-Romaniya on the western front of Raqqah, after two days of continued festivities."
This is the first time that SDF forces have regained control over a western district of Raqqah. The snuffies had earlier seized control of the eastern neighborhood of al-Meshleb
Also on Sunday, SDF forces battled to capture the Division 17 military base and an adjacent sugar factory, which ISIS
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the fighters sought to dislodge the snuffies from the base, with backing from the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Takfiri ISIS Lions of Islam in Syria.
"Blasts could be heard throughout the night because of the exchange of fire between the two sides," the Britannia-based monitoring group said.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said ISIS had "heavily fortified" the base, expecting a major SDF offensive.
It is estimated a population of 300,000 civilians are trapped inside Raqqah, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria. Thousands have fled in recent months, and the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) believes about 160,000 people remain in the city.
On June 6, SDF said it had launched an operation aimed at pushing ISIS out of Raqqah.
The city of Raqqah, which lies on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, was overrun by ISIS Lions of Islam in March 2013, and was proclaimed the center for most of the Takfiris’ administrative and control tasks the next year.
Big ISIS Turban dies in Raqqa fighting
[ARA News] A senior official of the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group was killed along with several other jihadists in an attack by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa city, military sources reported on Sunday.
Abu Khattab al-Tunsi, a Tunisian jihadist and chief of ISIS’ military operations in eastern Raqqa, was killed by the SDF fire.
“At least 12 members of ISIS were killed during clashes with the SDF in the eastern part of Raqqa. Among the casualties was Abu Khattab al-Tunsi,” a spokesman for the SDF confirmed in an interview with ARA News on Sunday.
“The death of al-Tunsi comes as a new blow to the ISIS terror group. He was leading their military operations in the eastern side of Raqqa city,” the Kurdish official said.
In the meantime, ISIS militants launched an offensive on the SDF headquarters in northern Raqqa.
“The group launched several mortar shells on the SDF security checkpoints in the villages of al-Kleb and Shahir north of Raqqa in the midnight on Sunday,” local media activist Shero Ahmed told ARA News.
“The bombardment caused the injury of at least six SDF fighters, who are being treated by the medical team in northern Raqqa,” the source reported.
This comes after the US-backed SDF troops launched a major operation to liberate the city of Raqqa from ISIS radicals. On Tuesday, the SDF announced the official start of the operation to liberate the city of Raqqa from Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants.
The SDF forces have liberated several neighborhoods in Raqqa city since Tuesday.
Raqqa has been known as a de facto capital for the ISIS self-proclaimed Caliphate since the summer of 2014.
The Kurdish-Arab-Christian alliance of SDF has been isolating Raqqa since November 2016, when the US-backed alliance launched the so-called Euphrates Wrath Operation.
On 13 April, the Syrian Democratic Forces launched the fourth phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation against Islamic State’s extremists to clear out the northern countryside of Raqqa.
During the first phase of Euphrates Wrath, which began on November 6, 2016, the SDF liberated roughly 560 km² in Northern Raqqa.
On 10 December, 2016, the SDF launched the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath, during which it captured over 2500 km² in Western Raqqa.
On 4 February, 2017, the Syrian Democratic Forces launched the third phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation, and liberated dozens of villages in Eastern Raqqa from ISIS jihadists.
The campaign is ultimately aimed at liberating the city of Raqqa from ISIS extremists.