US-backed forces say battle to retake Raqqa from Isis 'will take months'

US-backed forces encircling Raqqa expect the fight to oust the remnants of Islamic State from its most symbolic Syrian stronghold to take at least 3 months, despite rapid advances towards the city centre this week.

The advance met with fierce resistance on Wednesday, as Isis fighters used an 18th-century fortified wall as a buffer against Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, who had been claiming neighbourhoods of the city, while steadily closing in from its surrounds. Read more HERE.