BEIRUT \u2014 The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S.-led coalition says allied Syrian fighters have successfully cleared a centuries-old mosque in Raqqa after seizing the Syrian city\u2019s ancient quarters from the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A coalition statement issued Monday says the seizure of the Old City of Raqqa and especially the Great Mosque is a \u201cmilestone\u201d in the battle to defeat IS. It said the force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, went to great lengths to limit damage to infrastructure, including the ancient mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Great Mosque is the oldest mosque in the city and has been under IS control since 2014, when the extremist group captured the city. IS later made Raqqa the de facto capital of its self-styled caliphate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SDF, aided by the U.S.-led coalition, launched their offensive to capture Raqqa on June 6, and have since taken more than half the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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3:45 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syrian opposition activists and state media say government forces are close to breaking a nearly three-year siege imposed by the Islamic State group on parts of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syrian troops and allied militiamen have for months been advancing toward Deir el-Zour, the provincial capital of the oil-rich province of the same name. Government forces are besieged in a handful of neighborhoods as well as a nearby airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday that the advancing forces are less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from a besieged, government-held air base known as Brigade 137. If they reach the base, they will be able to lift the siege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State news agency SANA is reporting the \u201ccollapse\u201d of IS defenses in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S.-led coalition says allied Syrian fighters have successfully cleared a centuries-old mosque in Raqqa after seizing the Syrian city\u2019s ancient quarters from the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1351],"class_list":["post-25769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EPKAJEE5PNEGJGEVTEZHYFQDNY","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/04\/the-latest-us-backed-forces-advance-in-syrias-raqqa\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n