Syria

ISIL Gunmen Evacuating from Raqqa after Secret Agreement with SDF

 

ISIL has started evacuating its gunmen from Raqqa city in Northeastern Syria following a secret agreement between the ISIL and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to hand over the city to the SDF without any clashes, an Arab media outlet reported on Wednesday.

The Arabic-language al-Manar news network quoted militant-affiliated websites as saying that several buses have been dispatched to al-Asadiyeh region North of Raqqa city to take away the ISIL gunmen and their family members.

Some other sources, meantime, reported that the first group of ISIL gunmen retreated from Raqqa city based on a secret agreement with the SDF.

The sources said that the ISIL militants have possibly moved towards ISIL-held regions in Hama, Homs or Deir Ezzur provinces.

The spokesman for the Euphrates Rage Operation said on Sunday that the SDF drove ISIL out of 85 percent of Raqqa city.

Jeihan Sheikh Ahmad stated that the SDF seized control over 85 percent of the districts in the ISIL-held Raqqa city.

He further added that the SDF fighters would take full control over the city in the next coming days.

The SDF general command said in a statement last month that the SDF fighters stormed ISIL’s positions from the Sugar Company North of Raqqa city and captured the 17th Brigade base and silos.

Also, the SDF pushed ISIL back from the neighborhoods of Tishrin, al-Ramileh, al-Rowzeh and al-Mat’haneh.

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