Breaking - ArchivesPosts of 06/07/2017

US-backed forces encircling Raqqa expect the fight to oust the remnants of Islamic State from its most symbolic Syrian stronghold to take at least 3 months, despite rapid advances towards the city centre this week.

The advance met with fierce resistance on Wednesday, as Isis fighters used an 18th-century fortified wall as a buffer against Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, who had been claiming neighbourhoods of the city, while steadily closing in from its surrounds. Read more HERE.

North Korea claims to have conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a development that, if confirmed, could move the regime closer to being able to strike the US mainland and dramatically strengthen its hand in negotiations with Washington.

South Korean and Japanese officials said they were studying the data to confirm whether or not it was an ICBM, but analysts said it appeared the missile had the range to strike Alaska but not other parts of the continental US. Read more HERE