Syrian army pushes into Raqa province

Syria's army advanced into Raqa province Tuesday, a monitor and a military source said, on the same day US-backed forces pushed into its provincial capital held by the Islamic State group.

"Regime forces entered Raqa province for the first time in a year, coming from Aleppo province" to the west, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

Backed by Russian air strikes, troops seized the villages of Khirbet Mohsen and Khirbet al-Sabaa from IS fighters, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

A Syrian military source confirmed the army had advanced into the province and taken the two villages, west of the jihadists' de facto Syrian capital of Raqa city.

The troops aim to "ensure the security of Aleppo province against the attacks of Daesh jihadists", the source said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

President Bashar al-Assad's army has since January been carrying out a massive operation to fight IS in the eastern part of Aleppo province.

His soldiers on Tuesday were around 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Raqa city, into which the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces thrusted earlier in the day.

The SDF, who are made up of Kurdish and Arab rebels, on Tuesday announced they were launching a final assault to drive the jihadists from the city.

Abdel Rahman said it was not immediately clear if there was any coordination between the SDF and Assad's forces.

More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Source: AFP