US-backed Syria force says IS fightback slowing Raqa battle

US-backed fighters battling to capture Syria's Raqa are being slowed by fierce resistance from the Islamic State group which has heavily mined the city, a militia spokeswoman has told AFP.The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by an international coalition battling IS, entered Raqa city two months ago.SDF fighters have now captured more than half of the one-time jihadist bastion, Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Wrath of the Euphrates operation to capture the city, t