DAMASCUS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are mopping up the last Islamic State (IS) holdouts in Syria's northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the terror-designated group, a monitor group reported Thursday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS has lost its main stronghold in Syria by losing Raqqa to the Kurdish-led SDF, adding that the remaining IS fighters are hiding in basements and underground shelters in the city center.
The anticipated victory comes following a 108-day battle by the SDF and allied fighters to drive out IS from Raqqa, which the terror-designated group self-declared as its capital in 2014.
The SDF fighters, backed by U.S. special forces, are combing the city to defuse the bombs left by IS, said the Observatory.
The London-based watchdog also said the SDF will declare the full capture of Raqqa once the city is fully cleared of IS militants.
According to the monitor group, 80 percent of the city has been destroyed, and about 3,100 including IS militants have been killed during the months-long offensives in the city.
A source familiar with the situation in Raqqa told Xinhua that the SDF could declare the liberation of the city within hours or a day.
Meanwhile, IS militants are also losing ground in the key eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where the Syrian army has already captured 75 percent of the capital city there.
The SDF is also fighting IS in the northern and eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, striping IS of several areas there.
