For Syria regime, Raqa still occupied despite IS ouster

Damascus said Sunday it still considers Raqa an occupied city, less than two weeks after a US-backed alliance drove the Islamic State group out of its onetime Syrian capital. Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad kept out of the offensive led by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that pushed IS out of the city on October 17. "Raqa is still an occupied city and cannot be considered liberated until the entry of the Syrian army, which is fighting IS along with its allies," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2yhkVc1