Syrian alliance launches attack near IS capital

AMMAN: A US-backed alliance of Syrian militias launched a new offensive against Islamic State fighters near their de facto capital of Raqqa city on Tuesday, a monitoring group and an official said.

The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance is the main Syrian partner for the US-led alliance battling the Islamic State group that controls large areas of northern and eastern Syria.

Its most powerful component is the Kurdish YPG militia. Aided by US-led air strikes, the YPG has driven Islamic State from wide areas of northern Syria over the last year or more, though its advances have recently slowed.

There has been no indication of when a full assault on Raqqa city might take place.

A Kurdish official contacted by Reuters declined to say whether it was a target of the latest offensive.

Syrian Kurdish groups have previously said an attack on the predominantly Arab city of Raqqa should be led by Arab militias.

Syria experts say the SDF’s Arab groups are not yet ready for such an attack, however.

An unspecified number of SDF fighters were seen moving south from their stronghold of Tel Abyad near the Turkish border towards Ain Issa, a town about 60-km north west of Raqqa city, and clashes were reported nearby, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.