Plans Underway For The Liberation Of The Syrian City of Raqqa From The Islamic State

Tim Lister, CNN: ISIS' enemies line up to take Raqqa, but when -- and how?

(CNN)The "caliphate" declared by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) will lose its last two cities of any consequence -- Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria -- within months, according to the senior U.S. general in the region.

Speaking on a tour north of Baghdad this week, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, said the next phase of the Iraqi military operation to take Mosul will get underway imminently.

The city of some 300,000 inhabitants is ISIS' administrative headquarters, and its hub for planning overseas terror attacks. Not so long ago, ISIS controlled a wide swathe of land between Raqqa and the Turkish border, allowing as many as 2,000 foreign fighters a month to reach the "promised land."

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More News On The Battle For The Syrian City of Raqqa

href="http://ift.tt/2kuMmnC">Counter-ISIL Forces Prepare to Drive Terrorists From Raqqa, DoD Spokesman Says -- US Department of Defense
ISIS Mobilizes for Raqqa Urban Warfare -- Asharq Al Awsat
US-Led Coalition Started Disabling Bridges Near Syria's Raqqa - Pentagon -- Sputnik
Video: Kurdish-led forces only 5km from the ISIS capital of Raqqa after rapid offensive -- AMN
Kurdish-Led Fighters Advance to 5 Km Away From Daesh's De Facto Capital of Raqqa -- Sputnik
Under Siege in al-Bab, IS Faces Retreat to Raqqa -- VOA
Syria’s Daesh-held Raqqa expected to be liberated by Spring -- Al Bawaba
Operation to Retake Syria's Raqqa From Daesh May Begin in Spring -- Sputnik
Raqqa should be isolated by spring – UK minister -- Middle East Monitor
All-Arab force to enter Raqqa once liberated -- RUDAW