RAQQA, SYRIA ¨C U.S.-backed forces now have Islamic State fighters surrounded in central Raqqa, a Syrian Kurdish commander said, but he predicted that driving the militants out could take up to four months.
¡°We¡¯ve cleared about half of Old Raqqa ... and we¡¯re advancing on all axes,¡± said Haval Gabar, the 25-year-old commander from the Kurdish YPG militia who is directing the assault on the Old City front in Islamic State¡¯s Syrian stronghold.
Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance dominated by the YPG, fully linked up in Raqqa¡¯s southern districts on Tuesday, encircling the militants in the city center, which includes the Old City,
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