Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Spirits high among Kurdish fighters in Syria as coalition battles for Raqa

1038573
1038573
minus
plus

RAQA, Syria: Kurdish fighter Habun Kamishli proudly recalled the cat and mouse game she played with an IS suicide bomber in the Syrian town of Raqa, where the militant group is likely to make its last stand.


“I was standing on a rooftop yesterday as our forces advanced. I noticed he was trying to sneak from one street to another to get into the building and kill us,” she said.


“Then I took a picture of his body with my phone. We are avenging the deaths of our fellow Kurds.”


The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, made up predominantly of Kurdish fighters, has seized territory to the north, east and west of Raqa. The city of about 200,000 has been the base of operations for IS, which has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on civilians across the globe.


The assault on Raqa is likely to be a defining moment in the US-led war on IS in Iraq and Syria.


Along with the Iraqi army’s campaign to drive out IS in Mosul, the other centre of its self-proclaimed caliphate, it threatens to deal a major blow to the militants.


Spirits were high among Kurds on Thursday, as they identified IS targets on an iPad and fired mortar rounds towards them.


Nearby, a Kurdish fighter listened to communications on a radio. Coalition aircraft had spotted militants in a car and were about to attack.


The mood along a Raqa street was a far cry from the fear that took hold when the extremist militants group declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and moved towards building a self-sufficient state. Kurdish YPG militia flags hang on the walls of buildings beside names of fighters and women sang patriotic songs.


Shops taken over by the militants were abandoned, with just a few empty chocolate boxes left. Large billboards with the group’s original name IS in Iraq and Syria felt like part of a bygone era. Kurdish women commanders seemed confident of victory in the next few months.


“We have them surrounded on three sides and many can’t escape anymore,” said Samaa Sarya. “Some manage to escape on wooden boats along the river at night.”


The number of car bombs, a favourite IS weapon, has fallen from about 20 to 7 a day. Coalition air strikes are exerting heavy pressure on IS.


Still, dangers persist. Minutes later, Sarya received word that a drone operated by IS dropped a bomb on Raqa, wounding 12 of her comrades.


Some Kurdish fighters estimate there could be as many as 3,000 militants left in Raqa, where buildings are pockmarked from fighting.


The Syrians left, but foreign fighters stayed and were busy planting landmines and booby trapping houses, Kurdish fighters said. IS snipers were highly effective, they said.


“Today our movements were delayed by snipers,” said Kurdish fighter Mostafa Sirikanu.


Gunfire could be heard as Kurdish militiaman Orkash Saldan pointed to a wall about 500 metres away.


“Daesh are just beyond that point,” he said, walking past a rocket IS fired two days ago. In a nearby building, where IS had left behind mattresses and clothes, he pointed to a small teapot.


“You never know they could have put a bomb in that teapot or that television,” he said. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon