News / Syria

US-backed SDF recaptures Tabqa near Raqqah from Daesh

Wednesday, 10 May 2017 6:07 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 12 May 2017 11:42 PM ]

This April 30, 2017 photo provided by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), shows a fighter from the SDF carrying weapons as he looks toward the northern town of Tabqa, Syria. (Photo by AP)

US-backed militants, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have fully captured the city of Tabqa and a nearby dam from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The SDF, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, on Wednesday recaptured the city, which sits on the Euphrates River and on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometers west of Raqqah, Daesh’s stronghold in Syria.

SDF spokesman, Talal Sello, told AFP that the forces had "achieved victory and completely liberated the city and the dam."

Rami Abdel Rahman of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the development.

Both the dam and the city are under the control of the joint force, according to the monitoring group.

The SDF had been fighting Daesh in Tabqa, as part of the "Wrath of the Euphrates” operation, which was launched in November 2016.

Displaced Syrians arrive in the village of Suwayda, north of Tabqa, on March 30, 2017, after they fled their homes due to the battles between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Daesh terrorists. (Photo by AFP)

The recapturing of Tabqa comes ahead of a broader offensive for Raqqah, which fell to the terrorists in 2013.

Syria has been battling foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.

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