Beirut — US-backed fighters have seized 90% of Raqa from Islamic State (IS), a monitor said on Wednesday, as they announced they were in the "final stages" of capturing the jihadists’ Syrian stronghold. Under siege in the northern city for three months, IS is struggling to defend its one-time bastion under a barrage of air strikes by the US-led coalition battling the jihadists in Syria and Iraq. "Because of the heavy coalition air strikes, IS withdrew from at least five key neighbourhoods over the past 48 hours," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "This allowed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to control 90% of the city." The SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces the coalition is backing in Syria with air strikes, equipment and advisers. IS pulled out of the north of the city and abandoned its grain silos and mills, and was now confined to the city centre, Abdel Rahman said. The SDF said its forces had mounted a "surprise...
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