Around 100 Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters have surrendered in the terrorist group’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa in the last 24 hours and were “removed from the city,” according to Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led anti-IS coalition. “We still expect difficult fighting in the days ahead and will not set a time for when we think [Islamic State] will be completely defeated in Raqqa,” Dillon said in an emailed statement to Reuters. US-backed Syrian rebel groups have been on the ground offensive in Raqqa since June and have so far captured sizeable swaths of land in the city with the support of US-led coalition airstrikes.