US-backed forces have started their assault on the final Islamic State fighters in Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS 'caliphate.' The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they began the attack on Sunday (the day I'm writing this) after allowing a convoy of civilians and non-IS mercenaries who decided to abandon IS to leave. There are only 200-300 ISIL fighters left it Raqqa, according to intelligence estimates.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh (the Arabic acronym) has been slowly disintegrating over the past year and a half in Iraq and now in Syria. The four-month siege and final assault at Raqqa could spell the end of the group as an attempted state. ISIL's attempt to create a caliphate rather than fight a purely guerrilla war was quite different from other groups such as Al-Qaeda. It will be interesting to see how the destruction of ISIL as a 'state' will affect the continuing Syrian Civil War.
Here's the link to the story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41626759
Steven Grant Weber
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