Dozens of ISIL group fighters cornered in a northern part of Syria’s Tabqa are holding off US-backed forces that hold almost all of the city, a monitor said Sunday.

Tabqa sits on the Euphrates River and on a strategic supply route about 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of Raqa, the Syrian heart of ISIL’s so-called caliphate.

In their drive for Raqa, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have captured more than 90 percent of Tabqa, but have not been able to fully clear the terrorists out of the city or the adjacent dam.

“The SDF hasn’t been able to seize complete control of Tabqa because ISIL fighters are still present in the neighborhoods of Wahdah and Hurriyah,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian opposing Observatory.

Source: AFP