Kurdish-led rebels advance against IS in Syria's Raqqa

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rebels continued to advance on Monday against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria's northern city of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, a monitor group reported.

Intense battles continued to rage between the SDF and the IS in the northern countryside of al-Raqqa, a day after the Kurdish-led group declared a wide-scale offensive to "liberate" al-Raqqa from the IS terrorists, according to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the SDF has controlled over 10 villages and farmlands, the most important of which is the town of Lakta, which the observatory said has a strategic importance.

The initial aim of the SDF battle, dubbed the "Wrath of Euphrates," is to isolate the city of al-Raqqa from its northern countryside, as a prelude to dislodge IS militants form the city.

The two-day battles have also witnessed airstrikes from the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition on the IS positions in al-Raqqa, according to the observatory.

It said 30,000 fighters with the SDF were taking part in the battle to liberate al-Raqqa.

The Syrian government has not yet commented on the war on al-Raqqa by the U.S.-backed SDF, but analysts here played down the SDF war on IS as a "media campaign."

Hamdi Abdullah, a Syrian political analyst, told Xinhua that the number of the SDF fighters that was announced is "exaggerated," adding that the SDF alone cannot take down the IS group in al-Raqqa.

He said the campaign aims to polish the United States image ahead of the presidential elections in Washington, casting doubts on the real intensions of Washington regarding the fight against IS in Syria. Endit