The Battle For Raqqa

The battle for the largest city held by the Islamic State, Mosul, is now all but over. Thousands died, over a million were made homeless and large parts of the city were destroyed. But this was only the first of two major battles needed to destroy the terrorist organization.

The group's de-facto capital, Ar-Raqqa, remains.

Located in central Syria, on the banks of the Euphrates River, Raqqa was previously home to approximately 220,000 people before the Syrian Civil War began. It fell to rebel groups in 2013, and in early 2014 was completely overtaken by IS. Since then, however, the tide has turned against IS, and Raqqa is now besieged by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by US air power and special forces.

The battle for Raqqa began last month, and by all accounts it is proving to be as bloody and fierce as the battle for Mosul in Iraq. Despite being backed by the most powerful airforce in the world, SDF fighters are fighting tooth and nail for each building and street. IS snipers patrol from almost every high point, while their suicide car bombs and armed drones put the attackers in constant danger. Moreover, due to the fact that many of the SDF fighters are Kurdish and loyal to the PKK, the local Arabs often view them with distrust, rather than as liberators. No one really knows how long the battle will continue for, but in all likelihood, months of fighting and thousands of bodies lay between the SDF and victory in Raqqa.

Alice Martins' article for the Washington Post takes the reader into the heart of this battle. Reporting from the front lines, she describes the day-to-day dangers faced by the SDF fighters attempting to retake the city. As well, her beautifully shot photographs accompany the text, driving home the sense of danger and tension.