DAMASCUS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Most of the local Islamic State (IS) militants have surrendered to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), while the foreign militants refused to give up in the northern city of Raqqa, a well-informed source told Xinhua on Saturday.
Tens of IS militants have surrendered over the past 24 hours to the SDF in the few areas the terror-designated group is holding in Raqqa, but the foreign ones have been reluctant to do so, which means they will fight till the end, the source, close to the Kurds, said on condition of anonymity.
A day earlier, Al-Arabyia TV said Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, was empty of IS militants following a deal for their surrender with the SDF, an alliance of Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians led by the Kurdish YPG group and supported by the U.S.-led coalition.
The coalition said 100 IS militants surrendered in Raqqa over the past 24 hours, expecting a tough battle against the remaining fighters who refused to surrender in areas they are still holding in Raqqa.
It added that it accepts the surrender of IS militants there.
Meanwhile, the SDF said in a statement that its fighters have become in control over 95 percent of the city.
The SDF said Saturday that "a few days are remaining until Raqqa completely get rid of the cancer of IS."
The SDF also posted a video, purporting to show civilians fleeing the IS-controlled areas in Raqqa toward the areas captured recently by the SDF, with the coalition estimating that around 4,000 civilians are still being held by the IS as human shields in Raqqa.
IS militants declared Raqqa as their capital in 2014, after announcing their self-styled caliphate.
Tens of civilians have fallen during the intense battles as well as the airstrikes of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition.
On Sept. 7, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said as many as 978 civilians had been killed in three months by the U.S.-led airstrike and the shelling on Raqqa.
