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France Wants Coalition Offensive for Raqqa

France Wants Coalition Offensive for Raqqa
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France asked a US-led coalition to launch an offensive to surround Daesh's [ISIS/ISIL] Syrian bastion of Raqqa in order to prevent movements of militants between Mosul and Raqqa, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Friday.

France Wants Coalition Offensive for Raqqa

"There is no offensive yet, but forces are deployed there in a bid to surround Raqqa and to avoid a possible movement of terrorists between Mosul and Raqqa," Le Foll said, following a ministerial meeting.

"This is a strategic target, which is being put in place," he added.

On the ground, a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance Friday fought fiercely to drive Daesh from a hilltop north of Raqqa.

The fighting took place as a senior official with the Syrian Democratic Forces told AFP that US-led coalition forces had not only provided weapons to the alliance but was also engaged in combat on the ground.

The SDF, which in Nov. 5 launched an offensive to retake Raqqa city with support from the coalition, encircled the village of Tal Saman, 25 kilometers from Raqqa.

Fighting also raged between the SDF and Daesh inside Tal Saman, an officer said after returning from the front.

"The terrorists have sent three car bombs since Thursday. Our forces managed to blow them up," Farhad Kurdistan said. "Our forces are using heavy weapons because Daesh is putting up tough resistance," he said.

SDF fighters said Tal Saman offers a view of surrounding rocky desert terrain and villages near Raqqa, which has been under Daesh control since 2014.

"Daesh is resisting because Tal Saman is on a hill from which one can see the villages" outside Raqqa city, another officer said, requesting anonymity.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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