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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| 300-400 IS Jihadists Left in Syria's Raqa |
| 2017-10-13 |
| [AnNahar] Between 300 and 400 Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group jihadists remain in their one-time Syrian bastion of Raqa where a Kurdish-Arab force is fighting to seize full control, its U.S.-led coalition backer said Thursday. "We are looking at approximately 4,000 civilians who remain in Raqa, and a matter of 3-400 remaining ISIS (IS) fighters," coalition front man U.S. Colonel Ryan S. Dillon told a news conference in Baghdad. The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have taken control of around 90 percent of the city from IS since they broke into it in June. Officials from Raqa Civil Council -- a provisional administration set up by the SDF -- are trying to negotiate the safe passage of civilians from remaining IS-held areas. "We have seen a trend of ISIS surrendering over these last months, about four to five per week ... including emirs and leaders," said Dillon, adding that others were captured to blend in with departing civilians. Civilians Pour Out of Syria's Raqa as Bombing Intensifies [AnNahar] Dozens of desperate civilians streamed out of battlefront districts of Syria's Raqa on Thursday after a ferocious resumption in bombardment against Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group holdouts in the city. U.S.-led air strikes have helped the Syrian Democratic Forces oust IS from around 90 percent of the group's one-time bastion, but hundreds of jihadists and civilians are still believed to be holed up near Raqa's city centre. Early Thursday morning, dozens of people -- mostly women and kiddies -- crossed the front line in Raqa's central al-Badu district and were transported by SDF forces to a row of one-room concrete warehouses on the western edge of the city. Many of the children were without shoes, their tiny feet covered in dirt after they fled their battle-scarred neighbourhoods on foot. Haggard-looking men of all ages -- most of them suffering wounds to their legs or head -- had been syphoned off into a separate area for questioning. Several residents told AFP that air strikes and artillery fire had resumed with a vengeance on Wednesday night after several days of relative calm. "It was quiet for two or three days, and all we could think about was just going outside," said Nisrine, a 20-year-old Raqa resident originally from Aleppo. She, her one-year-old son, and her neighbour Aya had been trapped inside their apartments in al-Badu for so many days she had lost count. "But when the bombardment started up again, it was even worse than before," Nisrine said, her black face veil hiding everything but exhausted brown eyes. - No sleep - This week, officials from the Raqa Civil Council -- a provisional administration set up by the SDF -- were working to secure the safe passage of civilians from remaining IS-held areas. SDF field commanders told AFP the front lines had been quiet in recent days apart from sporadic strikes. The U.S.-led coalition backing the SDF's offensives said it carried out no air raids around Raqa on Monday and six on Tuesday. By comparison, it conducted 24 strikes around Raqa on Wednesday. "The bombing stopped, there was supposed to be a truce and surrender. But then I don't know what happened and the artillery started again," said Abdullah al-Ali, a dazed Raqa resident in his twenties who escaped Thursday morning. An older man with wiry salt-and-pepper hair and gauze over one eye said warplanes had largely spared al-Badu from bombing over the past three days. "But last night, we didn't sleep at all from the air strikes and artillery," he told AFP as he waited to be taken to a mosque in a western suburb of Raqa that had been turned into a reception centre. Since 2014, Raqa has served as the de facto Syrian capital of IS' self-styled "caliphate." The SDF has squeezed jihadists into a sliver of territory near Raqa's heart ahead of a final push to fully recapture the city. But Rojda Felat, who is leading the SDF's assault on Raqa, said the assault has been delayed by the outpouring of civilians in recent days. "Over the past few days, we've liberated around 1,000 people including around 250 today," she told AFP on Thursday. "We are preparing to enter the final week (of fighting), but the massive exit of civilians prevented this," she said. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 That's only 6 or so mass graves. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2017-10-13 07:22 |
| #1 "I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all." Mad Dog Mattis |
| Posted by: Hupeting Sforza8196 2017-10-13 01:39 |