raqqa was the first city from assad control.discernible] january 2014, when isis took over control of the city was that my colleagues and i decided to complete our work to be not and at that assad am time no one had heard about raqqa or isis, so we started our organization to alert the international community and media about what is going on in raqqa. same -- most of the media organization to enter the country and cover what is going on. with isis, they rescinded all l of them. is the: you said raqqa first city to be liberated from assad control. where did isis come from? >> they arrived after raqqa was liberated. the fighters came from iraq. -- isis is not a new thing. front.ra they came together and established isis. amy: i would like to ask about the origins of isis, both in iraq and in syria. kofi annan, the former united nations secretary-general spoke at the munich security coconference in he suggested the 2015. u.s.-led invasion of iraq created the islamic state. moree second and much proximate cause of the instability we

we're heading towards the centre of raqqa.ic state fighters are holed up in the old city, just a few hundred metres away. everyone is on edge. a sound overhead signals the presence of an attack drone. what's happening is we've just driven down these narrow side streets. suddenly there's gunfire overhead, everyone‘s looking up in the sky, searching for these is drones. this is urban warfare. there are no realfront lines. the kurdish led sdf are not on their own in this fight. the americans have quietly built up a presence on the ground here in northern syria, providing weapons, training and firepower. with us help they've chased islamic state out of traditionally kurdish areas and beyond. expanding their control across the euphrates and into mainly arab territory to the west. this is manbij. the syrian democratic forces took the city last august, after two and a half years under is rule. this building was their courthouse. here, islamic state would sit in judgment over people they deemed to have broken their laws. punishment wo

but in raqqa they fight isis. in a community that honors sexual equality sozda leads the band of young kurdish fighters. >> translator: you can't capture an entire neighborhood at once. you must go house by house. there are mines and snipers. but we are still advancing. >> reporter: there are no vast armies here unlike the fight against ice and in streets and alleys in raqqa sozda and her troops run the gauntlet of isis snipers. >> we're out of breath here. what the soldier here is saying is because snipers have been targeting the route you have to run in this exact fashion. it's like 200, 250 yards long. it's pretty tiring. and look how lightly armed they are. no tanks, no humvees, not even body armor. the u.s. is sending some vehicles and guns. >> i noticed you've got some homemade bombs here. is that because you're not getting enough supplies, enough weapons from the u.s.-led coalition? >> translator: it's true they are sending us weapons, but it's way less than we need for the big battles we are fighting. >> r

they call themselves raqqa is being slaughtered silently, or rbss.ir goal, to bring international media attention to what's going on in raqqa. oscar-nominated director matthew heinemann followed their work against the isis propaganda machine. >> they really just wanted to protect and expose the horrors of their town because they -- they wanted to fight for their people. >> reporter: the film comes at a pivotal time in the battle to defeat isis in syria and iraq. isis control is crumbling in mosul, and just this week u.s.-backed fighters have advanced into the see of raqqa, which has been the terrorist group's de facto capital since 2013. ♪ but despite losing ground isis's propaganda machine is still going strong, and the mission of these citizen journalists has been to use counterprogramming to fight it. >> what were you trying to show in terms of the difference between their propaganda materials and reality? >> ouisis was reporting that everything was fine, raqqa was paradise, and for us we started to film the reality, what's really going on there i

when they said they were going to go inside raqqa and ta ke were going to go inside raqqa and take care it it started to support radically on the ground last november and since they started talking about the main battle a year ago. basically turkey does not want these forces to take the front line in raqqa and they we re the front line in raqqa and they were against them in a battle a few months ago. these forces are basically on the ground backed up by the airforce. basically on the ground backed up by the air force. we have the kurds. there are a lot of different groupings trying to defeat is. absolutely and this is why everyone is fighting the same enemy, but they all have different interests and this is why syria is much more difficult than iraq. this is why raqqa is predicted to be more difficult than the battle of mosul. there are still 2500 militants in islamic state and most of them are arabs and they will easily mingle in between the civilians. there are 100,000 civilians in the area of the city of raqqa and the damage on the civilians, hopefully it will not be great, but it is

in raqqa, islamic state is making its final stand.their way into the heart of the caliphate, a fragile coalition of power is great and small, of arabs and kurds, of men and women. this fighter is in command of thousands of fighters on the raqqa frontline. together, these men and women make up the syrian democratic forces. it is an alliance that includes arabs, but is led by the kurds. their success against islamic state has come thanks, in no small part, to battle from the united states. americans have quietly pilled up a presence on the ground, providing weapons, training and firepower. this command and the units are on the western front. it isa units are on the western front. it is a tight squeeze inside a home—made truck with a couple of her fighters driving towards the centre of raqqa —— built. it's a posted be surrounded inside the city. —— islamic state are supposed to be surrounded. but islamic state have dug tunnels and they frequently pep-up dug tunnels and they frequently pop—up when you don't expect them. " p0p pop—up when

backed forces fight as take the isis strong hold in raqqa in syria. using social media to defeat isis. plus. we'll talk with the authors of two new books set during world war ii and look at revealing new books about president nixon son and obama, and as always, we'll have plenty of political analysis. it's all coming up on "face the nation." >> mr. dickerson: happy 4th of july weekend. this a past w win for president as the supreme court lifted the block on parts of his travel ban but set backs and confusion on healthcare. and an ugly outbursts from the president dominated the rest of the week. as majority leader mitch mcconnell struggled to find a healthcare bill that could pass, help craft a bipartisan bill were dismissed a by the president as insincere. thursday morning, the president embarked on a twitter rampage attacking two hosts mental states. this time there was bipartisan agreement that he had gone too far far. >> it is not normal for a grown man to be so consumed with petty vitrial >> do you regret your tweets >> mr. dickerson: and that it

thank you so much for that exclusive look inside the walls of raqqa. but let me ask you about the news made in this putin/trump meeting, specifically that the cease-fire in southwest syria. what's the significance of that? >> reporter: well, it's an area in which we have seen intermittently moments in which pro-syrian militia have come forward and that's caused the need for this sort of increased talk about deescalation. and two, this deal, scant on details at this moment, frankly, does appear to involve a calming of the forces in that area but i have to point out, southern syria is not the most troublesome region, frankly, of the country. this kind of deescalation has been sort of in the works for some time. it will bring some sense of calm to jordan, who are seeing more activity on their northern border, but i think more interestingly, we've seen hundreds -- hundreds is an exaggeration, possibly a dozen syrian cease-fires come and go in the past five years or so. the first time these two sides have a meeting here, they appear to come up with some sor

forces are reportedly in control of parts of raqqa. how close are they to proclaiming that city and pushing out i.s.? >> in the beginning of the operation, one month ago, he operation was going very fast in the beginning, but now it is facing more resistance of isis. they have taken 20% of raqqa now. the expectation the rest of the fight will be very tough. it will be several months before raqqa is retaken. host: what is i.s.'s capacity to strike back as it loses ground in iraq and syria? >> isis is slowly move -- losing much of its territory, this doesn't mean -- they have sleeper cells and support. you still have to defeat their ideology. there is still a possibility in syria and iraq will be attacks by isis, maybe even in europe. we don't know that yet. host: vladimir, thank you very much. here are the other stories making headlines around the world. turkish police have killed five suspected i.s. militants in a firefight they erected -- that erupted in a syrian city. the raid came after a tipoff that the militants are planning to ta

iman‘s son was born in raqqa.n take him. do you think they'll take you back easily and how do you expect them to believe you or forgive you when you've been part of the so—called islamic state? these children know nothing but life under the islamic state. for now they and their mothers are stuck between a caliphate they fled and homelands that may not want them back. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: does american football leave players brain damaged? a new study uncovers damning evidence. mission control: you can see them coming down the ladder now. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an

i was forced to- wasn't able to go to raqqa, i would be killed instantly.i started filming them in turkey after they were forced to flee, after some of the members of their group were killed. and the sort of through-line of the film is basically me with them as they are escaping from safehouse to safehouse, ultimately landing in europe. you know, i think these issues of isis and syria are so often relegated to headlines and to stats and i really wanted to put a human face to this topic. >> brown: what is the situation now, of course the battle for raqqa is going on, and we read about airstrikes, civilians being hurt, what's the situation for your colleagues? >> people of raqqa, so they are like besieged by isis and it's like, it's the supported militias by us was able to control many areas in the countryside and right now the clash is in the city. isis, so the people of raqqa are suffering not only by isis, but the airstrikes of the international coalition, at the same time the russians are still bombing the city with the syrian regime. so, everyone's like

let's talk about their self-proclaimed capital of raqqa. raqqa is presently on the squeeze now.hat happens to the people there? like the daughter who was just profiled in atika shubert's report. what happens to people there, and also what happens when two powerful nations are virtually staring at each other? the united states and russia. >> yes. absolutely. the battle of raqqa and the battle of der aszor. we have talked about der azor, one of the most important provinces in syria. it's where nearly 60% of the oil and gas exists and where now isis key leaders are escaping from raqqa to the mei adin, a very important city, and de der azor. and also you have the global powers, the united states and russia. and also you have turkey and you have iran. remember, this is a geostrategic struggle inside syria. there is a race against time in order to gain territories and to think about the day after. after the defeat of isis. so in many ways the global powers, the united states and russia and iran and turkey, they're all really concerned about their own interests as opposed to the plight

targeting isis positions deeper inside raqqa. in a global fight against isis. fueled by hope of u.s. support for a kurdish homeland nearby afterwards. donald trump? >> trump. >> reporter: he didn't vote trump here, but the white house hazlet them gather pace, whisking through three miles of raqqa's outskirts in as many weeks to here. it is merely empty. the one we see further out unable to speak, although the story is in her bloodshot eyes. at least 50,000 other stories of loss and horror are now encircled inside raqqa, hostage to the question when does isis' resolve to die finally break? nick paton walsh, cnn, raqqa, syria. >>> finally on our world kilometres series, the massive iceberg broke off in delaware. the massive iceberg weighs nearly 20 tons and it would fill lake erie twice over. researchers worry this could lead to the entire shelf breaking off. >>> that's it for "the lead" today. i'm jake tapper. i now turn you over to jim acosta who is taking over for wolf in the situation room. >>> pledge of independence. president

just a few kilometres away from raqqa, people have begun setting up makeshift tents.conditions, they hope they will be able to go back home soon. the push towards raqqa started at the end of last year with heavy airstrikes in and around the city. according to the un, at least 300 civilians died in raids since march alone. with an estimated 100,000 people still left inside the city, there are growing fears for the safety. north of the city, a camp has been set up for those who have escaped the fighting. in may alone, around 100,000 people were displaced. it is safer here, but conditions are tough. the forces surrounding the city say they will capture it in a matter of months, and that will mean many more thousands facing the dangerous journey into camps like this one. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan has told the bbc that membership of the european union was not indispensable for his country, criticising the eu for being insincere. in an interview with the bbc‘s hardtalk programme, mr erdogan also said he hoped for a free trade deal with britain once it leaves t

but the war against isis rages on in raqqa, syria. now it's rare to hear from isis fighters themselves. it's even more rare to hear from the women who join in the terror groups self proclaimed capital. now nick paton walsh brings us their stories. >> the women have been rounded up as isis sympathizers but haven't been charged with anything in what essentially a lawless area. they've been jailed and segregate at refugee camp and now wait for officials to decide their fate. >> don't kid yourself. they saw the videos. girls yb mothers, some who married into isis who knew what they were about. but still came. now, jailed in refugee camp, stuck in limbo as isis collapses, trying to go home and they want your pity and that you believe them when they say was all, all of it, a huge mistake. >> use women for sex? >> yeah. it is very disgusting. >> three indonesian sisters say they paid thousands of dollars to get here. lured by the false promise of free health care and schools but ended up living off of selling their jewelry and paying thousan

in raqqa islamic state is making its final stand.eart of the caliphate, a fragile coalition of power is great and small, of arabs and kurds, of men and women. this person is in command of around 1000 fighters on the raqqa front lines. together these men and women make up the syrian democratic forces. an alliance that includes arabs but is led by the kurds. their success against is has come thanks in no small part to backing from the united states. the americans have quietly built up a presence on the ground, providing weapons, training and firepower. this commander and her unit are on the western front. it isa her unit are on the western front. it is a tight squeeze inside the home armoured truck with a couple of herfighters home armoured truck with a couple of her fighters driving towards the centre of raqqa. islamic state is supposed to be surrounded inside the old city. but is have built tunnels. they frequently pop—up way you do not expect them. —— where you do not expect them. these fighters are coming up against is snipers in a

iman's son was born in raqqa.ck easily and how do you expect them to believe you or forgive you when you've been part of the so—called islamic state? these children know nothing but life under the islamic state. for now they and their mothers are stuck between a caliphate they fled and homelands that may not want them back. shaimaa khalil bbc news. stay with us. coming up, india has revved up taxes on hybrid cars. we'll be seeing what this means for manufacturers and the future production of environmentally friendly vehicles. and before we go, let's talk shoes. the british luxury shoemaker jimmy choo has been bought by us design house michael kors for nearly $1.2 billion. jimmy choo is famous for its stilettos worn by the likes of michelle obama, beyonce and the duchess of cambridge. stay with bbc world news. good morning. there's rain in the forecast for the next few days, but the important message is it's not going to be raining all the time. that's certainly the story for today. some wet and windy weather for i

but raqqa is going pretty quickly.rlie: have we found out more about the russian suggestion that they had killed al-baghdadi? >> i have asked u.s. commanders, and they say they have absolutely no confirmation. they have tried very hard to track this down. they have no electronic emission that would tell them one way or the other, whether he's dead or alive. all they can say is if he is still commanding isis forces, it is invisible to the u.s. charlie: tony, back to the question of the region and the u.s. role. what do you see for the future? >> i think some things are clear. no one believes we can halt the air campaign until we finish at least the liberation of all the towns and cities. david pointed out, this is still action underway. we are talking, after all, literally thousands and thousands of u.s. and allied parties. it isn't that the iraqi forces improved all that much, but they have an absolute monopoly on air power. we radically changed our support and training effort, so we put fire support units, multiple ro

raqqa a de facto capital declared in syria.qa potentially at this point only 50,000 civilians in it. some suggest more. 150,000, but nothing compared to the problem iraqi special forces face when they moved into the populated areas of mosul. an easier tack. up against 2,500 isis fighters. the coalition only a few hundred the diehard foreigners as far as we understand and at this point seem to be three kilometers from the city center. where the tough et fighting will be in the built up urban scroll. do they have go meant momentum? >> nick's saying there, you know, raqqa is no mosul. yet we see just how tightly isis will hold on to an aenclave lik this. what does it mean it appears they are on the verge of losing both of their de facto capitals? they have already sort of planned for this, or as best they can by moving some of their leadership, the majority of senior leadership down the river. to other cities. you're seeing the coalition step up strikes in those cities and in recent days, and recent weeks, they've taken out some s

those forces have now entered raqqa city. the assessment of u.s. commanders on the scene in syria is that this battle is going better and quicker than they had thought. i think they imagined that this would take certainly to the end of this year to complete the clearing raqqa, big city, had 300,000 people before the war. they're thinking it may go a good deal quicker as every syrian who can get out is trying to, there are foreign fighters who won't leave, won't be able to. there are big fights ahead along the lower u freightees which i think are going to be stuff battles. and huge political questions but raqqa is going pretty quickly from what i am told. >> rose: have we found out any more about the russian suggestion that they had killed al baghdadi. >> i asked u.s. commanders and they say they have absolutely no confirmation. they obviously tried hard to track us down, they have no electronic emission that would tell them one way or the other whether he is dead or alive. all that they can say is this if he is still commanding isis forces, it is i

>> quijano: and holly williams is on the front lines of the battle to re-take the isis capital of raqqa. this is the "cbs evening news." >> quijano: good evening. i'm elaine quijano. this is our western edition. president trump took another jab at the media today by tweeting a fake wrestling video that cnn described as "below the dignity of his office." a white house homeland security advisor insists no one would consider the video a threat. but reporters' rights groups are outraged. meanwhile, a real battle is taking place behind the scenes as republicans plot strategy to salvage their healthcare overhaul. paula reid reports. >> oh my god, what's going to happen? >> reporter: president trump continued his attacks on the media sunday morning, tweeting a video of himself wrestling cnn, wwe-style with the hashtag fraud news cnn. >> but i'm president, and they're not. >> reporter: but last night, at an event honoring veterans, the president was focused on highlighting his accomplishments. >> i am delivering on trade, on the economy, on the supreme court, on the second amendment, on our mil

we will be reporting from raqqa.ers are coming up against is snipers in all these streets around here. other than that, they have drones, suicide bombers, this will be a very hard fight. the so—called big economy has given rise to new ideas and some dynamic new companies. but our work is properly protected, or flexible contracts now an excuse to avoid response ability? and beijing is putting on quite a show. the promise of new trade along the new silk road, bridging the gap between east and west. in less than a decade, china has built twice as much high—speed rail as the rest of the world combined. hello, i'm in new york, kristian is in london. it now looks possible that donald trump's campaign didn't knowingly cooperate with people from russia. the e—mails have been —— did knowingly cooperate. the e—mails had been released and show a direct line from donald trump eyes inner circle to moscow. the e—mail exchange was with this man, rob goldstone, a music publicist and former tabloid reporter who was arranging the meet

iman‘s son was born in raqqa.take him. do you think they'll take you back easily and how do you expect them to believe you or forgive you when you've been part of the so—called islamic state? these children know nothing but life under the islamic state. for now they and their mothers are stuck between a caliphate they fled and homelands that may not want them back. shaimaa khalil bbc news. the hong kong government has unveiled a controversial proposal to allow mainland chinese officials to be stationed at a major train terminus as part of plans to connect the city to the national rail network. our correspondent juliana liu in hong kong has more details on why people are up in arms about this. hong kong is an incredibly divided city politically at the moment between those who support the effo rts between those who support the efforts of the hong kong and beijing governments and those who want greater democracy. so there are real fears that for the first time mainland chinese law will prevail in parts of hong kong,

raqqa? the syrians, russians, iranians, or will the united states have some say? it's still murky. but the big takeaway is that, look, even once isis is militarily defeated, it doesn't mean they can defeat the ideology. that ideology is going to take many more years to defeat, both in syria and iraq. >> it has been years, years of, quite frankly, misery for the civilian populations of both cities. who knows what happens next for them? thank you very much for bringing us up to speed. >>> a high-stakes trip starts with the president's remarks alongside president duda of poland. we'll take his remarks live as they happen. "early start" continues right now. >>> there's the room, the podiums and flags. the presidents set to speak minutes from now as the g-20 summ summit, the vladimir putin meeting, and more on the agenda. welcome to "early start," i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. it is 4:30 eastern time. we welcome all of our viewers in the united states and around the world. just minute

making gains in raqqa. u.s.- syrian forces through the wall in the old city taking the .ight to the islamic state this gathering of heads of state is second to none. how statues of america's presidents reached a virginia field. laura: welcome to our viewers on public television and around the globe. north korea claims to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic analysts sayh could put a alaska in range for the first time. the u.s. has asked for a closed-door meeting at the un security council in response. it comes as leaders will gather at the g 20 meeting this week. momentr: this is the north korea says it became a major power. the launch of a missile that it claims can reach across continents and deliver a nuclear weapon as far away as the united states. on news was announced state television with barely constrained joy. showing the handwritten order given by the country's leader, kim jong-un. he personally supervise the launch of a missile that he believes will secure him in people,rotect his and

raqqa will need money, organization, and manpower. but it's not likely the trump administration would supply that full effort. >> once raqqa's liberated, we believe it's critical for local officials to take over responsibility and take over responsibility for post-liberation security, but most importantly, governance down the road. >> reporter: but the fundamental question remains to what extent will the trump administration expand the u.s. effort to help rebuild these war-torn areas. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> iraqi forces are expecting to regain full control of mosul by the end of the week. that's according to the reuters news agency. the military is making critical new gains as it pushes into mosul's old city. compare that to a year ago when all the territory in green there was under isis control. it's believed there are just a few hundred isis militants left in the city as the battle plays out on the streets of mosul. up in the skies above the persian gulf, a different mission is being led from the "uss george h. w. bus

forces now inside raqqa, the self-declared caliphate. do you see isis losing its caliphate in the near term? >> well, it's certainly beginning to lose its cal i fate certainly in iraq. some 4 million people in both countries, iraq and syria have now been liberated from their rule. mosul is the last city they held and they are almost out of mosul now. there is still some clearing up work to do and there is more work to do over in syria. but through air power and the royal air force has been alongside the americans in the strikes that we've carried out, and through a lot of training and a lot of effort on the ground, you know, we've helped iraqi forces recover their own country and we need to do the same in syria. >> president trump the last time you met with senior russian officials in the white house, lavrov and the russian ambassador, rattled an ally by sharing classified information that he was not meant to. is there any concern in the u.s./british intel of sharing relationship? >> well, we share intelligence with you in the united sta

the battle for mosul any indication, the battle for raqqa may take weeks if not longer. much of the fighting is close quarters, street to street, building to building, house to house. retaking raqqa would be a crushing blow to isis and a major victory for the u.s.-led coalition. as the battle for raqqa rages on, so does violence in other parts of syria. 20 people killed, dozens wounded sunday when a suicide bomber attacked square in damascus. the violence comes as another round of cease-fire talks begin tomorrow. the syrian military announced a cease-fire in the southern part of the country in advance of the talks following weeks of fighting. syria will likely be the main focus of discussion when president trump meets with vladimir putin this week. washington and moscow share a common enemy but once isis is defeated, the two powers will be back in different sides in an unfinished war. >> today the deputy foreign minister denied reports tearing gas was used in the attack in northern syria in april. he wouldn't be surprised if the united states attacked syria again, adding

the wall of the old city in raqqa has been breached by allies of the us led coalition as they advance against so—called islamic state. and to mark america's independence day we will take you to meet the presidents, 43 of them, in one small corner of virginia. welcome to 100 days plus. i'm christian fraser in london. katty kay is off today. 30 minutes. that is how long it would take for an inter—continental ballistic missile to reach la from north korea. there is no consensus on how far pyongyang has advanced in developing such a weapon. 0r whether they have the capability to arm it with a nuclear warhead. but some experts suggests the type of missile they have just tested might already be able to reach alaska, and with further refinement could put the major cities in the united states within reach. that, says donald trump, will never happen. but how will they stop kim jung un, a man who is seemingly immune to any form of deterrent. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. this is the moment that north korea says it became a major power. the launch of a missile that it claim

. >> they might make it to raqqa and say that u.s. find a way to get isis out of raqqa. what's the larger picture there? does that mean it's all over? does isis need territory in order to had operate. >> no. i mean, raqqa is going to be a difficult fight. that is going to take a lot longer. think in terms of months it approximate not into 2018. there you have a different coalition. you have the sdf, which is a combination of syrian, arab and curds fighting together. they're making progress, but remember, isis has been dug in in raqqa for some time. and even after you clear isis all up and down the euphrates river valley, there's still going to be pockets. the numbers change ho this, but the most recent numbers that we have is within the city much raqqa there's a couple thousand isis fighters. sometimes you hear less than a thousand, but they're almost double that along the euphrates valley where they hold towns that are sympathetic to them. so the cleanup operation in iraq in some ways is easier because you have a strong sorn -- well,

commander in iraq says the coalition's next target is raqqa. lieutenant general stephen townsend says the fight is not a priority although iraqi forces need more time to get any i.s. fighters from mosul. >> one residential apartment block, the frontline of the assault to reclaim rocker from the islamic state. in an eastern district, the syrian democratic forces are meeting in the detective capital. up to 50,000 civilians may be trapped in the remains of the city. >> availability of food, water, medicine, electricity and other essentials has bn dwindling with the situation rapidly deteriorating. it is apparent that trapped civilians need to be able to get out to reach safety and protection. >> according to the united nations, the intensified fighting has been more dangerous for residents to escape. 300 civilians have died in the past month. in recent weeks, hundreds of families have risked their lives to free themselves from the grip of islamic control. some of the 200,000 residents and up at eight caps on like -- cmapamps like this one. >> ther

>> reporter: brooke, it is potentially a key moment in the move to take raqqa.ong, the wall, and goes around the whole city in the heart of raqqa. they said they breached two substantial holes in that wall enabling the group of syrian kurdish and area fighters for support to push on through and basically go past all the booby traps and defense positions that iraq laid out there. they've moved in very quickly in the last month or so, and they're now, it seems, about 3 kilometers away from the city center. the question really is, is this pace of progress going to sustain, or are they going to get bogged down in the dense urban areas of raqqa? there seems to be less civilians inside, for example, in mosul and iraq, people that have to deal with booby traps. there could be 150,000 less, but most importanting about 2500 isis fighters. that's not very many given the sheer ranks of opposition fighters around the american fire power at play right now. it could be lengthy, it could be bloody, but so far it seems to move quite quickly and raqqa has lost its power center i