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DAMASCUS, Oct. 17-- Following a four-month-long offensive by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Islamic State (IS) collapsed under the pressure and lost its de facto capital in Syria's northern province of Raqqa. The SDF troops, an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians led by the Kurdish YPG and supported by the U.S.-led coalition, have fully captured Raqqa on Tuesday, after eliminating the terror-labeled militants in the heartland of their rule in Syria. "The military operations in Raqqa have ended and now the city is being mopped up in search of sleeper cells if existed," Talal Silo, the spokesman of the SDF, told Xinhua by phone. The city is also being combed in search of mines, as the situation in Raqqa has been completely controlled by the SDF. "Soon we will have an official statement about the liberation of Raqqa," he said. "Sure the city of Raqqa has been liberated, and the military operations have ended, but we are mopping up the city," he stressed. The victory marks the first major defeat to IS in Syria, as Raqqa is the de facto capital of the terror-designated group. In the last week, a deal was struck between the SDF and IS with the mediation of local tribes in Raqqa for their surrender. Around 3,500 civilians evacuated the city over the past week, in addition to 275 local IS militants, while another 300 foreign ones remained in the city to meet a black fate. | 
