Daesh ‘support’ staff fleeing stronghold in Syria - Pentagon

Daesh administrators and bureaucrats have started to flee the militant group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa as a US-backed alliance works to isolate the city, a Pentagon official said today.

“A lot of their administrators and bureaucrats now are beginning the process of leaving Raqqa and moving their operations further down river,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.

“So they have definitely taken note of the fact that the end is near in Raqqa and we are seeing now an exodus of their leadership.”

He did not specify how many Daesh members were leaving or what exact roles they played, but said the withdrawal seemed to be organised and of their non-combatant “support people”.

A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters also said today that it was launching new attacks against Daesh after capturing dozens of villages in the latest phase of a battle to weaken the group in their Syrian strongholds.

The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes Arab groups and the Kurdish YPG militia, have for months been fighting Daesh in northern Syria around its de facto capital Raqqa.

The SDF started a new phase of its campaign earlier this month, aiming to encircle Raqqa and sever the road to militant strongholds in Deir ez-Zor province along the Euphrates River.