ISIS defeated in Syria’s Raqqa, US-backed militias raise flag inside stadium - reports

US-backed militias have raised a flag inside Raqqa Stadium, bringing to an end a four-month battle to take the Syrian ‘capital’ of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing witnesses. The fighting was over but the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, was clearing the stadium of mines and any remaining militants, according to Rojda Felat, commander of the Raqqa campaign for the SDF. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said IS had now been completely cleared from the city. The militias said that they had fully captured Raqqa, according to AFP. Another witness said that militia fighters were celebrating in the streets of Raqqa. The SDF, backed by the US-led international alliance, have been fighting IS inside Raqqa since June.