spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Sunday announced the "final phase" of the battle to capture Raqa, once the Syrian stronghold of the Islamic State group.

"We are now in the final phase of the battle for Raqa," spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP, after the SDF announced its fighters had begun the operation to capture the last 10 percent of the city under IS control.

source: AFP