When Isis first arrived in her village two years ago, Ameena, a 51-year-old Sunni Arab widow with three sons, was happy when they told people to pray. “I thought that they were real Muslims,” she recalls. “But after a few months they started poking their noses into all the details of people’s lives.”

Ameena, who comes from the village of Fatisah north of Isis’s de facto Syrian capital Raqqa, says that it was not only Isis’s emphasis on religion that explains their initial popularity but the fact that they were seen as part of the revolution against President Bashar al-Assad.

“When people in Syria started talking about toppling the regime, we were happy with any force trying to do this,” says Ameena. “But when those so-called saviours turned out to be criminals who killed people for any silly reason, we started to feel nostalgic for the old regime.” She has a strong personal reason for her anger against Isis: she accuses them of brainwashing her 15-year-old son and persuading him to join them. She has not seen him since he left home and does not know what has happened to him.

Ameena was speaking after Fatisah had been liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a grouping strongly backed by the US that brings together Sunni Arab, Turkman and Christian paramilitaries – though its real military punching power comes from the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Mobilisation Units (YPG).

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are seen in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa (Getty)

Isis may have gone from Fatisah but it has left many mines and booby traps, so Ameena is going to seek safety in the mixed Kurdish-Arab province of Hasaka to the north-east.

The SDF, supported by some 250 US troops, who specialise in calling in air strikes and logistics, started an operation a week ago with the aim of moving south from Ain Issa to take over the fertile cotton- and grain-growing land in the north of Raqqa province.

In pictures: The rise of Isis Show all 74 1 /74 In pictures: The rise of Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters of the Islamic State wave the group's flag from a damaged display of a government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from Islamic State group sit on their tank during a parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from the Islamic State group pray at the Tabqa air base after capturing it from the Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from extremist Islamic State group parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping A video uploaded to social networks shows men in underwear being marched barefoot along a desert road before being allegedly executed by Isis Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Haruna Yukawa after his capture by Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Khalinda Sharaf Ajour, a Yazidi, says two of her daughters were captured by Isis militants Washington Post In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Spokesperson for Isis Vice News via Youtube In pictures: The rise of Isis A pro-Isis leaflet A pro-Isis leaflet handed out on Oxford Street In London Ghaffar Hussain In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Isis Jihadists burn their passports In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A man collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A woman collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid Local civilians queue for aid administered by Isis. Since it declared a caliphate the group has increasingly been delivering services such as healthcare, and distributing aid and free fuel In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces detain men suspected of being militants of the Isis group in Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Mourners carry the coffin of a Shi'ite volunteer from the brigades of peace, who joined the Iraqi army and was killed during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Samarra, during his funeral in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Shiite Turkmen family fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, arrives at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi A photograph made from a video by the jihadist affiliated group Furqan Media via their twitter account allegedly showing Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon during Friday prayers at a mosque in Mosul. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamist caliphate in the territory under the group's control in Iraq and Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Smoke and debris go up in the air as Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul. Images posted online show that Islamic extremists have destroyed at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory - the city of Mosul and the town of Tal Afar - they have seized in northern Iraq in recent weeks In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq A bulldozer destroys Sunni's Ahmed al-Rifai shrine and tomb in Mahlabiya district outside of Tal Afar In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces celebrate after clashes with followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi, in front of his home in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi at his home after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A vehicle burns in front of a home of a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman holds her exhausted son as over 1000 Iraqis who have fled fighting in and around the city of Mosul and Tal Afar wait at a Kurdish checkpoint in the hopes of entering a temporary displacement camp in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees Displaced Iraqi women hold pots as they queue to receive food during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, at an encampment for displaced Iraqis who fled from Mosul and other towns, in the Khazer area outside Irbil, north Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters travel in a vehicle as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade with a missile in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from an al-Qaida splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from the splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters hold a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A member loyal to the Isis waves an Isis flag in Raqqa In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi anti-government gunmen from Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province march during a protest in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The United Nations warned that Iraq is at a "crossroads" and appealed for restraint, as a bloody four-day wave of violence killed 195 people. The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of the Shiite-majority country more than four months ago, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces hold up a flag of the Isis group they captured during an operation to regain control of Dallah Abbas north of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Isis fighters parade in the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Kurdish Peshmerga troops fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Jalawla, Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference Iraqi Prime Minister's security spokesman, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference about the latest military development in Iraq, in the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces pressed a campaign to retake militant-held Tikrit, clashing with jihadist-led Sunni militants nearby and pounding positions inside the city with air strikes in their biggest counter-offensive so far In pictures: The rise of Isis A police station building destroyed by Isis fighters An exterior view of a police station building destroyed by gunmen in Mosul city, northern Iraq. Iraq's new parliament is expected to convene to start the process of setting up a new government, despite deepening political rifts and an ongoing Islamist-led insurgency. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a decree inviting the new House of Representatives to meet and form a new government In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Smoke billows from an area controlled by the Isis between the Iraqi towns of Naojul and Tuz Khurmatu, both located north of the capital Baghdad, as Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces take part in an operation to repel the Sunni militants In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An elderly Iraqi woman is helped into a temporary displacement camp for Iraqis caught-up in the fighting in and around the city of Mosul in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Christian woman fleeing the violence in the village of Qaraqush, about 30 kms east of the northern province of Nineveh, cries upon her arrival at a community center in the Kurdish city of Arbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman, who fled with her family from the northern city of Mosul, prays with a copy of the Quran AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq The body of an Isis militant killed during clashes with Iraqi security forces on the outskirts of the city of Samarra Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi civilians inspect the damage at a market after an air strike by the Iraqi army in central Mosul EPA In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Members of the Al-Abbas brigades, who volunteered to protect the Shiite Muslim holy sites in Karbala against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government, parade in the streets of the city AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Shia tribesmen gather in Baghdad to take up arms against Sunni insurgents marching on the capital. Thousands have volunteered to bolster defences AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A van carrying volunteers joining Iraqi security forces against Jihadist militants. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteered to fight AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Al-Qa’ida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qa’ida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work

This will bring them very close to Raqqa city on the Euphrates river, which Isis seized from other Syrian rebel groups in August 2013. An agricultural and transport centre with a population of 200,000, the city had the advantage of being a road hub centrally placed within the “caliphate” that gave Isis a direct link to Mosul to the east, the Turkish border to the north and Aleppo to the west. Down river from two big dams and hydroelectric power stations on the Euphrates – Tishrin and al-Tabqa – it was at first well supplied with electricity, though the SDF has taken Tishrin earlier in the year and its columns are now advancing on al-Tabqa.

Heavy clashes in Fallujah

So far there has been limited fighting as Isis conserves its forces and pulls back out of the hundreds of villages in north Raqqa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has lost 61 fighters in the last week including a French commander and 24 children called “the Caliphate’s Cubs”. Isis strategy in Syria and Iraq is evidently to trade territory for time and prepare for a long guerrilla war without exposing its experienced fighters to the devastating firepower of the US-led coalition of air forces.

Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces fire a mortar shell towards positions held by Islamic State fighters in northern province of Raqqa (Reuters)

But military logic is not the only consideration here because it would be politically damaging for Isis to give up too easily the last three big cities – Raqqa, Fallujah and Mosul – it holds in Syria and Iraq. In any case, people in the north Raqqa countryside are taking no chances and are leaving their villages to avoid the fighting, though in Raqqa city they do not have this option. Isis is preventing them fleeing in the hope of forcing the coalition – overwhelmingly American in the case of Syria where the US has carried out all but 235 out of 3,715 air strikes – to limit its bombardment to avoid civilian casualties.

People in villages liberated by the SDF give graphic descriptions of what it was like to live under Isis rule for the last two-and-half years. For reasons that Ameena came to understand all too well, many were worried that their teenage sons would be lured by Isis propaganda into volunteering to fight and die for the the group.

Jasem al-Ahmad, 42, a Sunni Arab from Hesha village north of Raqqa, was so concerned about his 15-year-old son that last year he sent him to relatives in Hasaka. He says that “it was not permitted for anybody to leave the region under Isis rule, but I got a smuggler to take him out of the village”.

Isis gave priority to indoctrinating the youth of the city. Mr Ahmad says that the previous educational curriculum was cancelled and replaced by religious courses which were obligatory for children and the young, and were held in special centres in the villages and in Raqqa. “When they join the religious courses, they are called Lions of the Caliphate,” says Mr Ahmad. “In general, people were not happy with these courses so they tried to keep their children at home.”

As elsewhere in Isis territory, personal behaviour and appearance were regulated by severe punishments, starting with fines but rapidly graduating for repeat offenders to whipping. For un-Islamic shaving practices the penalty was a fine of $25 (£17) to $30, 30 lashes with a whip, and attendance at a religious course for 45 days. The whip used was either an electric cable or a thin slice from a tyre with a metal wire inside it.

Mr Ahmad’s experience is worth quoting at length because it gives a frightening insight into life lived under the constant threat of physical punishment. “Once I was caught smoking,” he says. “They asked me to pay $10 and I answered that I did not have it. They decided to give me 30 lashes with a whip. I had the punishment and with the 20th lash I fainted. My cousin took me to the clinic and I stayed there for more than two weeks suffering from the pain and the wounds.”

Syria civil war: ISIL makes gains near the Turkish border

Isis began its rule in this well-irrigated agricultural area by offering a range of services to farmers such as fertilisers, pesticides and veterinary assistance. But as Isis’s income from oil sales fell, it increased taxes and fees, particularly over the past eight months. It demanded that people pay in dollars as the Syrian pound fell sharply in value. Control of the big dams meant that electricity was widely available, but Isis charged high prices for it.

Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces drink tea as they rest inside a shelter in northern province of Raqqa (Reuters)

A feature of Isis control, which makes outright opposition difficult and dangerous, is that it is merciless towards any type of individual or communal resistance. Six months ago people in a village described as being near Hutteen state farm, 12 miles north of Raqqa, tried to prevent Isis fighters taking away a local man for punishment in Raqqa. Isis called for reinforcements who besieged the village and eventually arrested 235 people, most of its population, some whom were detained for a month and freed and others who are still in jail.

A further intriguing development is that villagers say that in recent days there have been differences and even clashes between local and foreign members of Isis over how to respond to the SDF offensive. The local Isis fighters generally want to withdraw, possibly because they do not want to see their villages destroyed, while the foreigners, who are described as being mostly Saudi and Libyan, wanted to stay and fight.

The SDF announced the start of the Raqqa campaign in late May (SDF)

Isis is being pressed back on many different fronts but it can still counterattack briskly and effectively, as it showed in recent fighting north of Aleppo. It has defeated armed opposition groups backed by the US and Turkey and expanded the section of the Turkish border it controls and gives greater access to the outside world, though not on the scale it enjoyed two years ago. It wants to maintain its rule in heavily populated a fertile areas of north Aleppo province, which has a population of about 700,000, from which it can draw supplies and manpower.

But its overall position is deteriorating sharply as it loses more and more of the Euphrates valley that used to be the spinal column of the “Caliphate” stretching from Fallujah west of Baghdad in the south to Jarabulus on the Syrian-Turkish border. It also faces a more active front with the Syrian army backed by the Russians that at one stage appeared capable of pressing east from Palmyra towards Raqqa and seizing it before the SDF.

Overall Isis commanders can still counterattack but they have not found a new set of tactics to replace those made obsolete by coalition and Russian air power.

Isis’s position is weakening, but reports from displaced or recently liberated Syrians and Iraqis complaining about their grim life under the its rule must be taken with a pinch of salt and can be misleading about the real state of public opinion. People escaping from Isis and wishing to persuade suspicious new hosts that they are not Isis secret agents have every incentive to stress the degree to which they and their neigbours have always detested it.

A US fighter, who is fighting alongside with Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), carries his national flag as he stands with SDF fighters in northern province of Raqqa, (Reuters)

Most importantly, all those in authority in all parts of Syria and Iraq are highly unpopular with their own people, to whom they have brought only violence and ruin. This is true of Isis, but it is also true of the Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish governments. Their people only support them, in so far as they do, because they fear that the only alternative rulers available will be worse and be even more dangerous to themselves, their families and their communities.