(AFP) A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance pushed closer to Raqa in Syria while Iraqi forces seized a key town near Mosul as offensives advanced Monday against the two Islamic State group strongholds.
After announcing the launch of the long-awaited assault on Raqa on Sunday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance said it had moved south towards the city despite fierce jihadist resistance.
South of Mosul, Iraqi forces retook Hamam al-Alil from ISIS, a key objective in their three-week advance on the city.
Raqa and Mosul are the last major cities in Syria and Iraq under the jihadists' control.
Their capture would deal a knockout blow to the self-styled "caliphate" ISIS declared in mid-2014.
The US-led coalition that launched operations against IS two years ago is providing crucial backing to the offensives, with air strikes and special forces advisers on the ground.
SDF Spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP that the alliance's forces had advanced on two fronts towards Raqa amid heavy fighting.
SDF fighters had pushed at least 10 kilometres (six miles) south towards the city from the towns of Ain Issa and Suluk, she said.
In both cases SDF fighters were still some distance from Raqa -- on the Ain Issa front at least 30 kilometres (20 miles) away.
"The offensive is going according to plan," said Ahmed, adding that the SDF had captured at least 10 villages so far.
'The Fight will not be easy'
An SDF commander said ISIS was fighting back with its favorite tactic of sending suicide bombers in explosives-packed vehicles against advancing forces. "ISIS is sending car bombers but coalition planes and our anti-tank weapons are limiting their effectiveness," the commander said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After taking Abu Ilaj north of Raqa, SDF fighters could be seen digging Fighting also continued east of Mosul, with Kurdish forces advancing into the town of Bashiqa and the elite Counter Terrorism Service battling ISIS in the city's suburbs.
"Up to seven neighborhoods are under the control of counter-terrorism forces, and they are now completely securing them and clearing them of pockets of terrorists present inside the houses," CTS spokesman Sabah al-Noman told AFP.
A peshmerga statement said that by Monday evening its forces were in Bashiqa and had "begun house-to-house clearances".
The Mosul offensive has advanced faster than expected, but the battle for Raqa is far more complicated.
Unlike in Iraq where the coalition has a state-controlled ally in federal forces, in Syria its ground partner is made up of local militias, including some rebel groups that have battled President Bashar al-Assad's regime.The domination of the SDF by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has also raised deep concerns in Turkey, which considers the YPG a "terrorist" group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Aid groups have voiced concerns for civilians trapped in both Mosul and Raqa, warning they may be used as human shields.
More than 34,000 people have been displaced since the Mosul operation began on October 17, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday.More than a million people are believed to be in Mosul.
Raqa had a population of some 240,000 before 2011 but more than 80,000 people have since fled there from other parts of Syria.