WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The spokesperson noted that Daesh leaders are moving to Deir Ez-Zor and Madan.
"A lot of senior ISIS [Daesh] leaders, a lot of their bureaucrats…[are] leaving Raqqa and moving their operations further down river," Davis told reporters.
Davis noted that currently there is only one way leading out of Raqqa, which makes it impossible for the terrorists to bring in large reinforcement.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are leading the offensive on the city, have not seen a lot of resistance from Daesh, Davis appointed out.
"It's been fairly easy going through," he added.
At the same time, Davis underscored that the fight to retake Raqqa will be a very difficult one, although not on the scale of Mosul. "It is a smaller city," Davis said.
The phase to encircle and isolate Daesh's stronghold of Raqqa in Syria continues and will be completed within several weeks, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. John Dorian said last week.
Daesh captured Raqqa in January 2014 and the city has served as its center of operations since.
The Syrian government-held city of Deir Ez-Zor has been under siege from Daesh since July 2014.
