French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives to attend a defense council at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 27, 2016.

A battle against ISIS to recapture the Syrian city of Raqqa is likely to start in the coming days, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday.

“France has always said that Raqqa was a major objective,” Le Drian told CNews television station. “Today, one can say that Raqqa is encircled, that the battle for Raqqa will start in the coming days.” “It will be a very hard battle, but a battle that is going to be of utmost importance,” he added.

Earlier this week, the US Pentagon department had said that the US-led coalition against ISIS had for the first time airdropped local ground forces behind enemy lines near the ISIS-held town of Tabqa in northern Syria, opening up a new front in the campaign to recapture Raqqa.