DAMASCUS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have become closer to the center of Raqqa city in northern Syria after ongoing battles with the Islamic State (IS) group, a monitor group reported on Wednesday, adding that over 773 civilians have been killed in the city since June.
The Kurdish-led SDF also besieged the city from south, east and north, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Other activists, meanwhile, said that the IS militants have upped their security measures inside Raqqa, setting up checkpoints at the backlines of the areas where battles with the SDF are taking place.
IS militants are also patrolling these neighborhoods to prevent civilians to flee to the areas that have fallen to the SDF.
The terror-designated group on Wednesday rounded up tens of civilians who were attempting to flee west of the city, activists said.
Meanwhile, Kurdish activists said that the SDF captured the Rashid neighborhood in Raqqa following battles with IS.
The U.S.-led coalition has also been backing the ground forces of the SDF, by intensifying airstrikes on Raqqa, during which civilians fell.
Activists said Wednesday that 40 civilians were killed by a U.S.-led airstrike on a residential building in Raqqa.
The observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on the ground, said Wednesday that as many as 773 civilians have been killed by U.S.-led strikes and shelling of the SDF since the operation against Raqqa began in June of this year.
The London-based watchdog group said 197 children and 119 women were among those killed during the battles in Raqqa, the main stronghold of IS in northeastern Syria.
The Syrian state media outlets have been reporting civilian causalities in Raqqa on daily basis, urging the UN to stop the "crimes" of the U.S. coalition.
Moreover, the Syrian government urged the UN and the international community to dissolve the U.S. coalition, which started operations in Syria in late 2014.
