More than 2700 were killed including about 1100 civilians were killed by International Coalition warplanes and mines in Al-Raqqah city with the increased tragedy among the remaining civilians

Today, the grand battle of Al-Raqqah has completed its 3rd month in a row since the 6th of June 2017, which is led by Syria Democratic Forces supported by US Special Forces and International Coalition warplanes, aiming to end the presence of the “Islamic State” organization in the city which used to be its main stronghold and capital in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory documented that the Syria Democratic Forces supported by the US Special Forces, managed to control 64% of the area of Al-Raqqah city, the controlled area of the organization is reduced to 36% of the city, while Al-Raqqah city is witnessing considerable destruction in citizens’ housing, stores, and property, as well as public utilities and infrastructure of the city, and the control of the “Islamic State” organization has been reduced to the neighborhoods of Al-Andalus, Shamal Sekket al-Qitar, al-Huriyah, Teshreen, al-Tawaso’eiyah in the northern part of Al-Raqqah city, also the “Islamic State” organization controls varying proportions of other neighborhoods which are witnessing clashes between the Syria Democratic Forces against the “Islamic State” organization, the neighborhoods of al-Bareed, al-Nahda and al-Dar’eiyah in the western section of the city, and the outskirts of Mansour and al-Ameen, and the neighborhoods of al-Morur and al-Thakanah in the center of Al-Raqqah city, and al-Rawda and Rumila northeast of Al-Raqqah city, while the Syria Democratic Forces control the neighborhoods of al-Sabahiya, Romaniya, Hutteen, Qadisiyah, Yarmouk and Karim west of Al-Raqqah city, and the neighborhoods of Hisham bin Abdul Malik and Nazlat Shhada in the southern part of the city, and al-Sinaa, al-Mashlab, the Old City and al-Batani in the eastern section of the city, and Mansour neighborhood, also they took control of about half of the neighborhoods of Dar’eiyah and al-Morur and reached the outskirts of the neighborhoods al-Amin and al-Thakanah and took control of parts of the neighborhoods of Rumaila, Rawda, L-Bareed and al-Nahda.

This advancement has tightened the grip on the “Islamic State” organization, and the clashes reached the center of Al-Raqqah city, after taking control of the Old City and besieging the center of Al-Raqqah city from 3 sides, accompanied by continuous airstrikes by the International Coalition warplanes and “Euphrates Wrath” Operations Forces on Al-Raqqah city, of which about 80% has become unfit for living as a result of the destruction, while thousands of citizens are still within areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization, they fell between the hammer and the anvil of the International Coalition, which killed hundreds of the city’s sons and injured hundreds of others, and destroyed a lot of the city, while thousands of other citizens were forced to flee to areas controlled by Syria Democratic Forces and other areas outside Al-Raqqah city, amid increased tragedy of the citizens who remained in the city, where the stored food keep on decreasing with the continuation of the battle, also the city is suffering shortage of drinking water and medical materials so much that the injured people are not receiving aid because there are not enough medical supplies or places to contain them, while people from Al-Raqqah city sent their complaints to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights talking about the growing number of unburied bodies in the city, of those who are under the ruins of destruction or the bodies of members who were killed in the shelling and the clashes, as well as the bodies of civilians in the fire intersecting areas, and the bodies started to smell increasingly, threatening with epidemics and diseases spreading among the remaining citizens in the city.

Amid desire of many members of the “Islamic State” organization in the city -especially those of Syrian nationality- to leave the “Islamic State” organization’s controlled areas and flee Al-Raqqah city, fearing the executions that might affect them if they did not escape successfully. The Asian fighters refrain from surrendering, where the Azerbaijani Battalion and other Asian brigades positioned on the fighting fronts refuse turning themselves in or fleeing, and their members say that “they will not flee, either victory or death”, and the clashes and counterattacks by the organization are escalating, accompanied by bombing by the International Coalition, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of more civilians as a result of its warplanes’ airstrikes and rockets on the city, thus, the civilian fatalities documented by the SOHR in Al-Raqqah city and countryside since the 5th of June until the 6th of September 2017 increased to at least 978, including an SOHR activist, 234 children and 163 women. And the casualties are 839 civilians including at least 214 children below the age of eighteen and 131 women over the age of eighteen, they were killed in Al-Raqqah city. In addition, 16 civilians, including 3 children and 4 women, were killed in raids on Zor Shamar village and another area at the southern banks of the Euphrates in the eastern countryside of Al-Raqqah. Airstrikes also left hundreds of civilians injured with varied degrees of severity, some of whom had their limbs amputated and some suffered permanent disabilities and others are still in critical conditions, which indicate that the death toll is likely to rise again. Moreover, dozens of houses and public utilities were destroyed as a result of the intensive shelling that targeted the city, its surroundings and outskirts.

The SOHR also documented that the international coalition airstrikes and the heavy bombardment on al-Raqqa city and its outskirts along with the military offensives in the city that included shelling, bombings and clashes with the “Euphrates Wrath” Operations Forces, which is composed of the Syria Democratic Forces, the Syrian Elite Forces, and the US Special Forces backed by the International Coalition’s warplanes caused – since the launching of the battle until today the 6th of September 2017– the death of at least 1124 members of the “Islamic State” organization including two local figures and commanders of groups, amid confirmed information about death of other members, in addition to injuring tens of them with varying degrees of severity.

Also, the SOHR documented in the same period the death of 495 fighters of the “Euphrates Wrath” including 2 fighters from the Syrian Elites Forces, a Syriac Security Force fighter, 5 fighters of American, Georgian, British and Turkish nationalities, while the rest of them are from the Syria Democratic Forces, whose main pillar is the YPG, and fighters of Manbij Military Council, who were killed during clashes against the “Islamic State” organization and due to bombings in al-Raqqa city and the southern banks of Euphrates River.

Also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of at least 118 civilians including 28 child and 6 citizen women in mine explosions while they were trying to get out of areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization in Al-Raqqah city, to areas controlled by the “Islamic State” organization snice the 5th of June 2017 until today the 6th of September 2017, in addition to the injury of tens of other civilians.