"The recapture of around 10 square kilometers in Ithriya region towards Raqqa province by the Syrian Army troops and the National Defense Forces (NDF) has caused serious concerns among ISIL's [Daesh] top commanders in Raqqa and they have started capturing and kidnapping citizens in and around the city in a bid to use them as human shield in the battlefields to slow down the army advances," several local sources near the city of Raqqa — the self-proclaimed capital of Daesh - said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Russian warplanes pounded several military columns of Daesh reinforcements moving to the rescue of their embattled comrades in Hama province, Fars News reported.
According to military sources on the ground, the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have won back a number of strategic military checkpoints in Raqqa province.
