Syria
Taking Raqqa
ISIL, a militant group, captured Raqqa, a Syrian province, in January 2014 and took Tabqa city's airbase from the Syrian government in August the same year. ISIL since lost the Tabqa airbase to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last month. Although it is a loss for ISIL, it is an accomplishment for Ghadab al-Furat, a Kurdish group fighting under SDF. In October 2016, they launched a campaign to retake Raqqa. Today the official spokesperson for the kurdish group, Jihan Sheikh, noted after taking the old city, they now control around 90 percent of Tabqa. The victory for Ghadab al-Furat resulted from ongoing clashes between the two groups and have left an estimated 19 people dead.
Who controls what in Raqqa? The map depicts the Syrian province Raqqa and the groups that control certain areas. Click on the map to expand.
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