PARIS - A battle against Islamic State to recapture the Syrian city of Raqqa is likely to start in the coming days, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday. 'France has always said that Raqqa was a major objective,' Le Drian told CNews television station. 'Today, one can say that Raqqa is encircled, that the battle for Raqqa will start in the coming days.' 'It will be a very hard battle, but a battle that is going to be of utmost importance,' he added. Earlier this week, the US Pentagon department had said that the US-led coalition against Islamic State had for the first time airdropped local ground forces behind enemy lines near the ISIS-held town of Tabqa in northern Syria, opening up a new front in the campaign to recapture Raqqa.
