DAMASCUS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured a key neighborhood in the Islamic State (IS) de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria on Monday, a monitor group and a source told Xinhua.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF and allied fighters, backed by the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition, captured the Sina'a neighborhood in Raqqa, becoming closer to the old city of Raqqa.
This achievement is the largest since the SDF unleashed their offensive on Raqqa on June 6, according to the Observatory.
Meanwhile, a well-informed source told Xinhua that the SDF have taken control of several neighborhoods in Raqqa, namely the Mashlab and Sina'a in the east, and Sbahiyeh, Jazra and Romaniyeh in the west.
The SDF have reached the Bab Baghdad area as well as two shrines called Ammar Bin Yasser and Oweis al-Qurani, the source said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said the Kurdish-led forces are expecting to capture Raqqa within two months.
The SDF announced their campaign to liberate Raqqa under the title of "Euphrates Wrath" in November last year, and declared their fourth stage of the attack to storm the Raqqa city last Tuesday, after months of battles at the outskirts and countryside of the city.
