Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters
© Rodi Said / Reuters
US-backed Syrian rebels have launched a campaign to retake the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the country. The assault is to begin within hours, with cover from the US Air Force.

The SDF said some 30,000 fighters are to take part in the operation.

The operation, called Angry Euphrates, was announced earlier on Sunday by commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in a press conference in the Syrian town of Ain Issa. The commanders said the goal of the operation is to liberate Raqqa from terrorists.


Comment: Interesting name. Sounds like a dig against Turkey's Euphrates Shield operation.


The SDF is a rebel alliance formed in 2015 with the goal of battling Islamic State. The Syrian YPG Kurdish force, one of Syria's most powerful militias, is regarded as the backbone of the alliance.

Announcing their offensive, the SDF warned Raqqa residents to avoid areas where IS militants are known to be present. They also urged all civilians to move to territories liberated from IS.

The SDF announcement comes amid the ongoing operation to liberate another IS stronghold - the city of Mosul in Iraq. Mosul, now the self-proclaimed capital of Islamic State in Iraq, was captured by the terrorists back in 2014. The Iraqi Army, along with a number of local militias, started the offensive to retake the city on October 17. Some 30,000 soldiers and militiamen backed by the US-led international coalition are taking part in the advance.

Since it was formed in early 2015, the SDF has seized large swathes of territory along the Syria-Turkey border and pushed IS back to within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of Raqqa, a provincial capital on the Euphrates River in Syria's largely desert east.

Several hundred US Special Forces operatives were sent into Syria earlier this year to "advise and assist" the SDF.

The United States considers the YPG the most effective force against IS, but Turkey has repeatedly said it will not accept a role for the Kurds in the liberation of Raqqa. Ankara, a key US ally in the region, regards the Syrian Kurds as terrorists allied with Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey.

"Our hope is that the Turkish state will not interfere in the internal affairs of Syria," an unidentified SDF official declared at Sunday's press conference. "Raqqa will be freed by its own sons," he added.

Neither Turkey nor the United States has yet commented on SDF's announcement.

US officials have previously acknowledged that liberating Raqqa will pose tougher political challenges than liberating Mosul, given Syria's political and military landscape. However, the commander of anti-IS coalition forces, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, said last week that no matter what, the Kurds will be an important part of the operation. "The facts are these: The only force that is capable on any near-term timeline is the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG are a significant portion. So, we're negotiating; we're planning; we're having talks with Turkey, and we're gonna take this in steps," he said.