Syrian Army, Allies Launch Massive Operations to Win Back Raqqa

The Syrian army, backed by the Desert Hawks brigade, started full-scale military operations to drive back the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group from its de-facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday.
According to field sources, the Syrian forces have started the operations from Ithriya region which links Aleppo to Hama, a strategic area which separates the Syrian army and the ISIL’s positions.
The army and its allies began the offensive by artillery attacks, supported by airstrikes, against the Eastern parts of Raqqa which are hosting the main strongholds of the ISIL terrorists.
Field sources said that the operations are aimed at taking full control of Raqqa province concurrently with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)’s advance in the Northern borders of the province.
Earlier reports today said that the SDF in cooperation with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have liberated a number of villages and several farms in their operations in Raqqa province in Northeastern Syria on Thursday.
The SDF and its allies continued their special operations to liberate Raqqa from the ISIL Takfiri terrorists’ hands, a field source said.
According to the source, the Kurdish forces have advanced 10 kilometers to the Northern parts of the city and will liberate it within days in cooperation with the army.
On Wednesday, the SDF continued to advance against the ISIL in the Western parts of Raqqa province near the Euphrates River, taking full control over at least 12 more villages in the region.
The ISIL withdrew from 12 more villages in al-Tabaqa region that is home to an inactive airbase controlled by the terrorist group.
The SDF fighters’ operation in axis of al-Tabaqa has thus far ended in the killing or wounding of dozens of the terrorists and has ended the ISIL rule over vast areas in the region.