<p>The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reportedly evacuated several areas in Raqqa city, Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, on July 20, according to Kurdish reports</a>.</p><p>Heavy fighting between SDF and IS was reported in the southwest of Raqqa and near the Hishan Bin Abdmalek</a> neighborhood, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights</a>.</p><p>A prominent anti-IS activist group said</a> late on July 19 that 54 civilians had been killed in a 24-hour period by a combination of coalition airstrikes, SDF shelling and Islamic State mines. Credit: YouTube/Hawar News Agency via Storyful</p><br />
