Jihan Sheikh Ahmed

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists waged fierce battles yesterday in their Syrian stronghold Raqqa in a bid to repel U.S.-backed fighters advancing towards the walls of the Old City.

The Kurdish and Arab members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqqa a week ago, after months of fighting to encircle the northern city that has become a jihadist bastion.

The US-backed Kurdish-Arab force leading the fight for the ISIS’s Syrian bastion Raqqa announced Tuesday the creation of a “civilian council” to administer the city after its capture.

“The civilian council of Raqqa will be charged with administering Raqqa and the surrounding province after liberation,” the Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement.

U.S.-backed forces pressed offensives Nov. 9 on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) strongholds in Syria and Iraq, as an air strike by the American-led coalition reportedly killed 20 civilians near the Syrian city of Raqqa.

A U.S.-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance pushed closer to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria on Nov. 8, a spokesperson said. 

U.S.-backed rebels said on Nov. 6 they were launching an operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).