ALALAM – Syria
“The Syrian Democratic Forces initiated the attack by bombing ISIS’ headquarters in western Raqqa with heavy artillery and mortar fire. Five more villages were liberated today,” the SDF Media Office told ARA News.
Military sources confirmed that the Kurdish-led SDF troops captured on Saturday the villages of Brosenjar al-Shamali, Brosenjar al-Janubi, Sahba, Ebu Jalat and Haji Sleman west of Raqqa.
“More than 25 ISIS terrorists were killed in Saturday’s operation,” SDF officer Daner Berkhudan told ARA News. “Several ISIS vehicles were seen leaving the targeted villages after the militants suffered heavy losses under the SDF bombardment.”
Saturday’s advance comes just a few days after the SDF expelled ISIS militants from ten other villages in western Raqqa last week– Bir Shallal, Um Salim, Safakher, Ajaj, Merwaniya, Krajah, Hamer Saghir, Hamer Kabir, Qerefdan and Draniya.
The SDF have released several statements, inducing the militants in Raqqa to surrender.
“To the terrorists of the so-called Islamic State, our fire will soon reach downtown Raqqa and by then you won’t be able to escape,” the SDF said in a hair-raising statement last Monday. “This is the final call: either surrender to the Syrian Democratic Forces or die.”
The Syrian Democratic Forces announced the beginning of the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation last week Saturday. While the first phase focused on securing both banks of the Balikh River, the second phase aims “at liberating the western countryside of Raqqa.”
The long-term objective of Euphrates Wrath is the elimination of the ISIS in its de facto capital, Raqqa city.
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