Sputnik News- The Kurdish-led SDF have been conducting the military campaign to liberate Raqqa from terrorists since November 2016.
"Clashes in�Raqqa continue. Claims that the city is completely liberated from�Daesh are false," the media representative of�the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebels, Mustafa Balli, has told Sputnik Turkey.
The statement comes amid�AFP�s earlier report, citing the SDF, that the US-backed rebels had established control over�Raqqa, the so-called former Daesh "capital," while an operation to�clear the city of�the remaining militants continued.
Earlier media reports cited eyewitnesses as�saying that the US-backed rebels had raised a flag inside�the Raqqa stadium.
Bel Trew�?@Beltrew
Breaking: SDF spokesman just told me Islamic State are defeated in�#Raqqa�- clean up operation to remove �sleeper cells� has begun.�#Isis
1:53 PM - Oct 17, 2017
The Raqqa victory comes days after�the�final assault on�the city�was announced after�an evacuation of�civilians and Daesh terrorists, who agreed to�leave the Syrian city, had been carried out. The evacuation of�civilians and 275 Daesh terrorists of�Syrian origin was part of�an agreement reached by�the US-led coalition. After a convoy with�evacuees left the former "capital" of�Daesh terrorist group, the final battle with�remaining 200-300 terrorists mostly from�foreign states began.
Conflict News�@ConflictsBREAKING: ISIS has been fully cleared from Raqqa by SDF forces -�@syriahr
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Conflict News�@ConflictsPHOTO: SDF troops take down last remaining ISIS flag in Raqqa. -�@DefenseUnitspic.twitter.com/bn8E29aQau
1:43 PM - Oct 17, 2017
Raqqa has been under�Daesh's control�since 2013. On November 6, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, also consisting of�Arab, Assyrian and Turkmen fighters, among�others,�announced the start of�the military operation�to�liberate the Syrian city of�Raqqa from�Daesh terrorist group with�the assistance of�the US-led coalition's airstrikes. Raqqa�s Old City was freed from�Daesh last month.