Militants “Islamic state” (IG, is prohibited in Russia) surrounded the center of the Syrian city of raqqa. About it reports Reuters.
“We have already cleared them for about half of the old city and is now advancing on all fronts,” — said the 25-year Haval Dim, the commander of one of the Kurdish militia involved in the fighting in Raqqa. “Two days ago there was a narrow corridor, now he is cut, we come to the districts of Mansour and Rashid”, he added.
Evaluation Kurdish commanders in raqqa is surrounded by 600 to 1,000 militants, mostly foreigners, and about 50 thousand civilians. The loss of Islamists, on average 10-15 people a day. A city cleanup will take three to four months. The main problem is many mines, placed by the militants and suicide bombings by cars stuffed with explosives. The big problem, according to the Kurds, are the snipers from Chechnya.
Raqqa — ISIS captured the city, which proclaimed as its “capital” in Syria. The liberation of Raqqa is considered to be one of the main goals of the international antiterrorist coalition headed by the USA, leading the fighting against IG in Iraq and Syria.