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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Route to Raqa dotted with discarded veils, burned cars

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MAZRAAT TISHREEN: Dozens of black veils dotted a freshly laid sand berm in northern Syria, ditched by women fleeing the IS group’s bastion of Raqa as US-backed fighters close in. Outside the village of Tishreen Farms, 17 kilometres north of Raqa, the Syrian Democratic Forces could be seen laying sandbags to protect themselves from IS car bombs and snipers. With air support from the US-led coalition, the alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has seized swathes of territory from the militants, who were stationed less than a kilometre away.


SDF fighters said women hastily shed their IS-mandated black veils after crossing into SDF territory near Tishreen Farms.


“Most of the women tear off their robes and burqas as soon as they arrive at our positions,” an SDF fighter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.


Thousands of civilians have been smuggled out of Raqa and surrounding territory in recent weeks.


Ahmad, who fled Raqa to a village near Tishreen Farms, said that he was one of the lucky ones.


He managed to escape despite IS’s brutal measures to block residents from leaving. “IS is using the civilians as human shields to protect itself,” said the man in his 30s. “We fled as part of a group two days ago, and an IS sniper shot and killed two of us.”


In Tishreen Farms, male and female SDF members worked to fill an underground tunnel they say militants used to avoid coalition air strikes as they transported supplies and ammunition throughout the area.


IS has used that tactic -- as well as weaponised drones and car bombs -- to defend territory across the so-called “caliphate” it declared in 2014.


The SDF launched its fight for Raqa in November, just a month after US-backed forces in neighbouring Iraq announced an offensive for IS’s other main stronghold, Mosul.


Both assaults have received crucial support from the US-led air coalition bombing the militants.


The bodies of alleged IS fighters were still visible around Tishreen Farms, along with destroyed vehicles on the side of the road that testified to the heavy strikes that targeted the area.


One SDF fighter said that coalition raids had killed “most of the IS fighters present in these villages”.


“Others were killed during our combing operations... IS has lost a huge part of its defensive capabilities. The fight isn’t as intense,” he said.


As it faces mounting pressure, IS has lashed out in other areas — including multiple attacks near a refugee camps on the Syrian-Iraqi border.


The SDF has already seized most of Raqa province as part of its “Wrath of the Euphrates” campaign, named after the major river that cuts across the northern part of Syria. At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from Raqa city. SDF spokesman Talal Sello said SDF fighters were still working on fully besieging the city, after which they would launch the final phase of the campaign. — AFP


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