Syrian Islamic State fighters evacuate Raqqa city

AIN ISSA, SYRIA - 15 October 2017: A group of Islamic State fighters evacuated the Syrian city of Raqqa overnight, taking civilians with them as human shields, a militia spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, continued to battle Islamic State jihadists who remain in the city, SDF spokesman Mostafa Bali said. Foreign fighters did not leave under the withdrawal deal, he added.

"The operations has finished and the battle continues," Bali said. "Last night, the final batch of fighters (who agreed to leave) left the city."