NNWN/ Beirut, 2017-10-14

Even as the international community keeps a close watch on the unfolding developments in Syria, a monitor group on Saturday reported that foreign fighters of the Islamic State (IS) group are still inside Syria's northern city of Raqqa. The came a day after an Al-Arabyia TV stated that Raqqa which is the de facto capital of the IS, was empty of the IS militants following a deal for their surrender with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and supported by the US-led coalition.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, what hindered the transfer or surrender of the foreign militants is the opposition of the Western countries, mainly the US and France. It was believed that one of the foreign IS fighters inside the city was the mastermind behind the terror attacks in Paris, according to the Observatory.
Meanwhile, the US-led anti-terror coalition reportedly said that a convoy of the IS militants would leave Raqqa on Saturday as part of a deal reached by "local officials".The coalition said earlier that 100 IS militants had left Raqqa to an undisclosed destination.
Meanwhile, the SDF said in a short statement that its fighters had controlled over 95 per cent of the city.The SDF said that "a few days are remaining until Raqqa completely get rid of the cancer of IS".The SDF also posted a video showing civilians fleeing the IS-controlled areas in Raqqa towards the areas recently captured by the SDF.
The coalition estimated that around 4,000 civilians were still being held by the IS as human shields in Raqqa.The IS militants declared Raqqa as their capital in 2014, after announcing their self-styled caliphate.