Deep in Syria is the
city of Raqqa, considered the de facto capital of Islamic State.
Islamic State billboards are seen
along a street in Raqqa, eastern Syria, which is controlled by the Islamic State, October 29, 2014. The billboard reads: "We will win despite the global coalition". (REUTERS/Nour Fourat)
Residents walk along the Tal
Abyad street market in central Raqqa, ahead of the upcoming Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, October 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Residents walk along the Tal
Abyad street market in central Raqqa, ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, in Raqqa, October 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Youths carry banners during a
protest against the U.S. airstrikes on the Islamic State in Raqqa, September 26, 2014. The banners in Arabic read, "By the soul, by the blood, we sacrifice ourselves oh state.(REUTERS/Stringer)
An Islamic State militant uses
a loud-hailer to announce to residents of Tabqa city that Tabqa air base has fallen to Islamic State militants, in nearby Raqqa city, August 24, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer
A boy stands during a
protest against the U.S. airstrikes on the Islamic State (IS) in Raqqa, September 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Female school students wearing a
full veil walk along a street in the northern province of Raqqa, March 31, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer
Residents flee what activists say
was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Tal Abyad street market in central Raqqa, September 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A boy turns his head
while standing amongst others praying inside a mosque in Raqqa, September 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
An Islamic State militant stands
next to residents as they hold pieces of wreckage from a Syrian war plane after it crashed in Raqqa, in northeast Syria, September 16, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Militant Islamist fighters take part
in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Militant Islamist fighters waving flags,
travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Militant Islamist fighters ride horses
as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A vendor sells traditional bread
during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Raqqa province, eastern Syria, which is controlled by the Islamic State, July 23, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Veiled women walk past a
billboard that carries a verse from Koran urging women to wear a hijab in the northern province of Raqqa, March 31, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Residents carry the body of
a man killed by what activists say was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Tal Abyad street market in central Raqqa, September 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A militant Islamist fighter uses
a mobile to film his fellow fighters taking part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A militant Islamist fighter waving
a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Residents flee what activists say
was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Tal Abyad street market in central Raqqa, September 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A militant Islamist fighter gestures
as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A family sits in a
pick-up truck in the Euphrates River in Raqqa, April 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Nour Fourat)
Militant Islamist fighters on a
tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province, June 30, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Veiled women sit as they
chat in a garden in the northern province of Raqqa, March 31, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
A resident of Tabqa city
touring the streets on a motorcycle waves an Islamist flag in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base, in nearby Raqqa city, August 24, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)