In Syria, more airstrikes hit IS de facto capital of Raqqa

BEIRUT — More airstrikes and artillery shelling on Monday hits the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group, as US-backed fighters push closer to the extremists’ stronghold, activists say.

The developments come ahead of what is expected to be a major battle for Raqqa in the coming weeks.

Airstrikes have intensified over the past days as US-backed fighters push on toward the city, getting closer to it from all sides. The Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces capture dozens of towns and villages under the cover of airstrikes by the US-led coalition since November, when the group began an operation entitled Euphrates Wrath, aiming to eventually surround and capture Raqqa.

SDF fighters surround Raqqa from the north, west and east. The extremists still have an exit from the south, even though the US-led coalition destroyed two bridges on the Euphrates River south of Raqqa.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the city is pounded by warplanes and artillery since early morning. The activist group has no immediate word on casualties from the new airstrikes, adding that about 38 people have been killed in Raqqa and its suburbs over the past three days.

The activist-operated Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently says that since Sunday, the US-led coalition carried out more than 30 airstrikes on the city, killing 35 people and destroying a school on Raqqa’s northern outskirts.

On Sunday, opposition activists say the US-led coalition dropped leaflets in Arabic on Raqqa, urging residents to leave the city. Some leaflets gave instructions of how to leave Raqqa, calling on people to keep their plans secret from IS and to leave without any weapons and waving a white banner.

— AP