美国官员：夺取拉卡之战可能在今后几日开始_时事

美国官员：夺取拉卡之战可能在今后几日开始

American military officials say U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have pushed within three kilometers of Islamic State's de-facto capital in Syria, and the major battle for control of Raqqa from Islamic State militants "could begin in the coming days."

Speaking to reporters from Baghdad, U.S.-led counter ISIS coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon said the SDF is "poised around Raqqa," after gaining 350 square kilometers from Islamic State in Syria in the last week.

The forces are within three kilometers from Raqqa city to the north and the east and about 10 kilometers from the city to the west, according to Dillon.

"The fight for the city could begin in the coming days," a U.S. military official separately told VOA on the condition of anonymity. "The encirclement of Raqqa is almost complete."

The U.S. military confirmed earlier this week that it has started distributing weapons and vehicles to Syrian Kurdish fighters in preparation for the Raqqa battle. That move has placed the United States at odds with NATO ally Turkey, which contends the SDF's Syrian Kurdish militia is a terrorist group affiliated with the outlawed PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a terror group that has been battling the Turkish state for many years.

Dillon said the SDF has instructed Raqqa citizens to leave the city ahead of the fighting, with nearly 200,000 people already displaced. Camps for displaced citizens have been established around the Syrian city, Dillon added, with SDF screening sites in place to prevent Islamic State militants from escaping among the fleeing civilian population.