US-backed Syrian fighters have begun a final offensive in Raqqa, a former stronghold of Islamic State, to expel fighters from the extremist group who are still hiding in the northeastern Syrian city.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led alliance supported by the US, said in a statement on Sunday that the ongoing battle comes after civilians were evacuated from Raqqa under a deal brokered by local tribal leaders.
Around 275 local fighters and their families have surrendered under this deal, the SDF said.
"The final battle will continue until the entire city is cleansed of terrorists, who have refused to surrender," the statement said.
Later on Sunday, SDF said its forces "liberated" the district of al-Bareed in the northwestern section of Raqqa following fierce fighting. No casualty figures were given.
The reported advance leaves six neighbourhoods in the city where IS insurgents are still hiding.
About 150 foreign insurgents along with a "small" number of local fighters linked to the radical group are trapped in Raqqa after they refused to turn themselves in, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said.
More than 3000 civilians had departed from the devastated city under the evacuation agreement, he added.
The SDF forces are in control of around 90 per cent of Raqqa, Silo said.
A US-led alliance fighting IS said on Saturday it would not allow foreign militant fighters to leave Raqqa, which was seized by the terrorist group in early 2014.
The SDF forces have been fighting to drive IS from the city since June.
In recent months, the hardline group has suffered military setbacks and lost ground in several parts of Syria.
Forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday pushed back IS in the centre of the war-torn country and regained strategic hills from the extremists in the province of Homs, a monitoring group reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that government forces advanced in the eastern side of Homs and stopped militants from coming closer to a major road linking the Homs town of al-Sukhna to the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
Backed by Russian airpower, Assad's forces on Saturday retook the eastern town of al-Mayadeen as part of an ongoing government campaign in oil-rich Deir al-Zour, located near the border with Iraq.
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