US-backed forces pause military campaign to allow Syrian dam to be fixed

US-backed forces in northern Syria have paused military operations near a dam held by the Islamic State group to allow engineers to fix any problems.

The decision by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after conflicting reports over whether civilians had begun evacuating the nearby city of Raqqa - the extremists' de facto capital - due to concerns about the Tabqa dam on the Euphrates River.