A US-backed alliance will launch their final assault on ISIS’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa in June, two commanders from the force have said.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Rojda Felat said: ‘The attack on Raqqa will take place in the beginning of the summer.’
She later specified that it would likely start in June based on ‘military and tactical considerations.’
Felat spoke at a press conference in Tabqa, which the SDF captured from ISIS on Wednesday along with its nearby dam.
The city is a key waypost in the SDF’s flagship offensive for Raqqa, the Syrian heart of ISIS’s so-called caliphate, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) further down the Euphrates Valley.
The deputy head of the SDF, Qahraman Hassan, said: ‘In the beginning of the summer, we will storm and liberate (Raqqa) city.’
He said the alliance would receive ‘special weapons and armoured vehicles’ to enter the city after President Donald Trump changed US policy to allow arms deliveries to Kurdish as well as Arab SDF fighters.
‘I believe this support will arrive soon,’ he said.
SDF commander Abdul Qader Hevdeli added: ‘I believe entering and storming the city will happen at the start of the summer.’
The SDF, an alliance of militias including Arab groups and the Kurdish YPG militia, has been waging a campaign to isolate and ultimately capture Raqqa city since November, with backing from the U. S.-led coalition.
While the U. S.-led coalition has already supplied weapons to Arab fighters in the SDF, the White House this week authorized for the first time arming its most powerful element – the Kurdish YPG – to help in the Raqqa assault, infuriating Turkey.
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