"The Kurdish fighters are now only 30 kilometers from Raqqa city," the Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted unnamed informed sources as saying on Sunday.
The SDF forces have declared their full preparedness to win back Raqqa city and they are approaching the city from the Northern side.
On Wednesday, the SDF Spokesman Tajir Kobani announced that commanders of the SDF-affiliated groups in Northern Syria have, in a secret meeting, coordinated the process of a joint final operation for liberating Raqqa from the ISIL terrorists.
"Our troops with their heavy weapons have gathered near Kobani in Northern Syria," the spokesman said, adding, "We will begin our operation from three directions simultaneously."
"The SDF will make a push for the city from the recently liberated Tishrin dam Northwest of Raqqa, and from two more directions of Tal Abyadh and Hasaka Northeast of Raqqa," Kobani went on to say.
Also on Wednesday, informed sources announced that reports about the imminent operations of the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies to liberate the terrorist-held city of Raqqa have caused the ISIL leaders to declare state of emergency in the capital of the self-proclaimed Caliphate.
"As soon as the Russian envoy in the UN announced preparation of the Syrian Army and its popular allies to launch large-scale operations to liberate Raqqa and end ISIL siege of Deir Ezzur, the ISIL terrorists started covering their military vehicles and equipment in order not to be identified in case of any airstrike," the sources said.
The SDF that is comprised of mainly Kurdish fighters as well as a few hundred Syrian Arab dissident forces have received trainings from the US and have been provided with scanty US-coalition air support in their battles in Raqqa province in Northeastern Syria; but in Northern and Northwestern battlefronts, they have been operating alongside the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and received the Russian air backup in their Aleppo wars that started with the conquest of Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates early in February, FNA reported.
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