Key powers thrash out Syria safe zones plan

Powerbrokers Russia, Iran and Turkey struggled yesterday to hammer out details on a plan for safe zones in Syria at a fifth round of peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Moscow and Tehran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and rebel supporter Ankara agreed in May to establish four "de-escalation" zones in a potential breakthrough towards calming a war that has claimed an estimated 320,000 lives since March 2011.

While fighting dropped off in the weeks after the deal, it has ratcheted up in some areas since, and the international players have yet to finalise the boundaries of the zones or determine who will police them.

In a bid to thrash out the details of the plan, participants were holding a string of closed-door meetings for a second day in Astana, with a joint session bringing together all players, including representatives of the Syria regime and rebels, expected later yesterday.

Rebel representatives at the talks were tight-lipped about progress, with one delegation member telling AFP only that "bilateral discussions are ongoing".

But a source close to the Syrian rebel delegation told AFP that Turkey, Russia and Iran had "prepared seven documents to help implement a ceasefire in Syria and deploy ground forces in predetermined zones."

Meanwhile, US-backed fighters inched forwards in Raqa's Old City against fierce resistance yesterday, after penetrating the heart of the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion, a spokesman and a monitor said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces -- an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters -- entered the historical quarter after air strikes by the US-led coalition punched two holes in its ramparts late on Monday.