The battle for Raqqa, main stronghold of the Islamic State in Syria, is taking a heavy toll on civilians trapped under fire in the city. Civilians have come under a barrage of ground and air attacks since the Syrian Democratic Forces, the local armed group leading the fight against IS, and the US–led coalition forces launched the final stage of the military operation to recapture Raqqa on 6 June 2017. At the same time IS has been using civilians as human shields and the Russia-backed Syrian have carried out indiscriminate air bombardments to recapture areas south of the Euphrates river from IS.
