US military official says Islamic State declared state of emergency in Raqqa

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The Islamic State terror group declared a state of emergency in its de-facto capital of Raqqa, a U.S. military official said Friday.

Col. Steve Warren said in a Pentagon briefing that officials were monitoring ISIS’ declaration to try and figure out what it meant. The extremist group reportedly began bolstering its supplies in its underground bunkers.

“We have seen this declaration of emergency in Raqqa, whatever that means,” Warren said. ““We know this enemy feels threatened, as they should. They see the Syrian Democratic Forces along with the Syrian Arab Coalition maneuver both to their east and to their west.”

Warren said that ISIS could be moving its troops to prepare for a possible attack.

“We've had reports of (ISIS) repositioning both their combat capabilities and personnel, either within the city or even out of the city,” he added. “So, rightfully, (ISIS) understands that their days are increasingly numbered. We are going to continue to keep this pressure on them and we expect to see them collapse eventually.”

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Tajir Kobani said earlier this week that commanders affiliated with the SDF in northern Syria have been planning a final operation to liberate Raqqa from the Islamic State.

Click for more from The Telegraph.