Is This Something? ISIS "Capital" Raqqa Now Claimed to be Under Control of US-Backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab Forces

Well, I guess it's good that some ISIS guys were killed, but we'll have to see if the US backed forces are much better.

Probably at least somewhat better, at least.

An alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, who are backed by the United States, announced they have taken full control of the Islamic State's so-called "capital" of Raqqa, Syria.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Talal Sello released a statement on Tuesday afternoon announcing that the fighting was over after a four-month assault, BBC reports.

The SDF is expected to make a formal declaration of the city's liberation in the near future. The final assault came at the end of three years of IS control in the city, and involved a final stand from up to 300 IS militants, according to the the BBC.

Earlier on Tuesday, the SDF cleared the last two major IS positions in Raqqa – the municipal stadium and the National Hospital.

Reuters news agency reported that fighters raised the flag of Popular Protection Units, a Kurdish militia that dominates the SDF, inside the stadium and celebrated in the streets and chanted slogans from their vehicles.

If you click on the link, you'll see a picture of female fighter, who I'm gonna guess is a Kurd (just because we hear about Kurdish female fighters) holding aloft the flag of the Syrian Democrat Forces.

It's a good picture. I wish I could be as hopeful about it as I might have been back in 2004.

Ah well -- I will choose to be optimistic and declare this to be Really Something.

Bonus: The SDF is primarily Kurdish and has declared their parts of the former state of Syria to be autonomous. This angers Turkey. And that's a good thing.

I would like to arm these guys up so they can fight the Turks.

Feeling Better: The SDF mocks ISIS by doing donuts in Al-Naim square -- which ISIS had done when they took the city in 2014.

posted by Ace at 06:37 PM

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