by Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt

October 26, 2016

 

WASHINGTON — The fight to retake Raqqa, the Syrian city that serves as the capital of the Islamic State, must begin soon — within weeks — to disrupt planning believed to be underway there to stage terrorist attacks on the West, senior Defense Department and military officials said on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top American military commander in Iraq, declined to name a specific threat against Western targets emanating from Raqqa, but described a “sense of urgency.” He said it was imperative that operations to isolate the city begin soon to prevent attacks on the West that could be launched or planned from the militants’ capital.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/us/politics/raqqa-syria-islamic-state.html