Kurdish-led forces said on Tuesday that they had taken all of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State, a major blow to the militant group, which had long used it as the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate, The New York Times reports.
Officers with the Syrian Democratic Forces, an American-backed militia group made up of Syrian Kurds and Arabs, said by phone and in press statements that they had taken control of the city after a monthslong campaign, although the United States Central Command stopped short of declaring victory, saying that fighters were checking to make sure all areas were clear.
But celebrations had already begun in Raqqa, where residents had lived under the repressive rule of militants who beheaded people in a central square for offenses as minor as smoking or communicating on the internet without permission. Fighters could be seen cheering in the streets, according to residents reached by phone and text message.