DAMASCUS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Syria's northern city of Raqqa had been cleared of the Islamic State (IS) militants, the Saudi-funded Alarabiya TV reported Friday.
The few remaining IS militants in the city had been besieged by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had been on a months-long offensive to defeat IS in its main stronghold in Syria, according to the report.
Earlier on Friday, the SDF said 95 percent of Raqqa had been free from IS control, adding that efforts are underway to save civilians, who had been taken as human shields by the terror-designated group.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition said the IS ouster from Raqqa is a matter of time.
IS militants declared Raqqa as their de facto capital in 2014, after announcing their self-styled caliphate.
The SDF, an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the United States, launched the offensive on Raqqa in June.
Tens of civilians have died during the intense battles as well as in the airstrikes of the U.S.-led coalition.
On Sept. 7, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said as many as 978 civilians had been killed within three months by the U.S.-led airstrike and the shelling on Raqqa.
