Ruqia Hassan

BELGRADE - The Syrian army continues to move into the northern province of Raqqa, home to the de facto capital of the self-claimed caliphate of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL) group fighting in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

The army first pushed into Raqqa Saturday.

The father of a Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria pleaded for his son's release on Dec. 25, asking the group to treat him well in captivity as a fellow Muslim.