PKK/PYD captures Syria’s Raqqah from Daesh

By Mohamad Misto and Levent Tok

RAQQAH/ANKARA

The PKK/PYD terrorist group has completely seized control of Syria’s northern city of Raqqah, the de facto capital of Daesh, according to local sources.

Source earlier told Anadolu Agency that the PKK/PYD and Daesh had reached an agreement through local intermediaries under which local Daesh members left the city after week-long negotiations.

The sources, who spoke anonymously due to security reasons, said PKK/PYD militants and Daesh’s foreign fighters had clashed in the city center and around Raqqah hospital.

Daesh captured Raqqah in early 2014 and declared it the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

In June, the PKK/PYD launched an operation to recapture Raqqah from Daesh with the support of U.S. forces.