US-backed militias have completely taken Isis' de facto capital, Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Tuesday, in a major symbolic blow to the jihadist group.
The fall of Raqqa, where Isis staged euphoric parades after its string of lightning victories in 2014, is a potent symbol of the movement's collapsing fortunes. The city was used as a base for the group to plan attacks abroad.
SOHR said 3,250 people were killed in the battle, including 1,130 civilians.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by a US-led international alliance, has been fighting Isis inside Raqqa since June.
A witness said fighting appeared to be almost at an end with only sporadic bursts of gunfire.
Militia fighters celebrated in the streets, chanted slogans from their vehicles and raised a flag inside Raqqa stadium.
An SDF spokesman said the alliance would capture the last Isis areas in the city within hours.
On Saturday a deal was brokered for the last remaining local fighters in Raqqa to leave the city.
SDF spokesman Talal Silo said then that any fighters who were not signed up to the deal would be left behind "to surrender or die”. READ MORE
