public beheadings and executions, and they would place the heads of their victims on these spikes as a gruesome reminder to others of what their fate might be should they decide to defy isis rule. it is also where isis sold its yazidi captives into sexual slavery. for the coalition of syrian backed democratic forces, the battle for raqqah was deeply personal. they vowed that rocky would be liberated at the hands of women. as we walk past some of their fighters, she says seeing them makes her happy. proud. women establish their bravery here, she says. it taught them their value beyond their value within the household. she tells us that she herself joined the fight against isis around three years ago. the final battles, she was just saying, were taking place in this entire area between the stadium that's right there and then the square that's behind us