The Syrian Army backed by Russian air strikes has advanced towards Islamic State-held Raqqa province in a new offensive, a group monitoring the war said, nearing a region where U.S.-backed militias have also attacked the jihadist group.
Heavy Russian air strikes hit IS-held territory in eastern areas of Hama province near the provincial boundary with Raqqa on Friday, where the army had advanced some 12 km, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
U.S.-backed militias including the Kurdish YPG are pressing a separate, multi-pronged attack against IS in Raqqa province and neighbouring Aleppo province, which escalated this week with a push towards the city of Manbij near the Turkish border.
Islamic State captured Tabqa in 2014 at the height of its rapid expansion in Syria and Iraq.
