Kurdish militia advance Sunday to the gates of a strategic jihadist-held town on Syria’s northern border with Turkey amid fierce fighting with the Islamic State group, a local commander tells AFP.
“The clashes are ongoing now on the eastern edges of Tal Abyad, 50 meters (yards) from the town. We are fighting for control of the first checkpoint,” says Hussein Khojer, a commander with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Tal Abyad lies on the Syrian-Turkish border and is used by IS as a gateway from Turkey into its bastion province of Raqa.
In this photo released on May 20, 2015, Kurdish fighters of the YPG flash victory signs as they sit on their pickup truck on their way to battle against the Islamic State group, near Kezwan mountain, northeast Syria. (The Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units via AP)
“This advance comes after three days of very fierce fighting in the area,” Khojer says, adding that several Syrian rebel factions were fighting alongside the YPG.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirms the advance, telling AFP that the YPG had reached the town’s southeastern edges.
“They have reached the southeastern entrance of Tal Abyad, but they have not entered the town yet,” says Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
