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
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