Kurdish-led forces in Syria advanced on Tuesday into the outskirts of an Islamic State-held town after capturing a military base overnight, aided by U.S.-led air strikes in some of the most dramatic gains yet against the militants.
The Kurdish march deep into the heart of Islamic State territory follows their capture of a town on the Turkish border last week, halting the momentum of militants who had seized major towns in both Syria and Iraq last month.
The Kurdish YPG-led forces moved to within 1 km of the centre of the Islamic State-held town of Ain Issa, said Redur Xelil, a spokesman for the group. Overnight they took control of the nearby Liwa-93 military base, a strategic objective which Islamic State had captured last year from government forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said U.S.-led air strikes in the area had killed at least 26 Islamic State fighters on Monday. Xelil described the U.S.-led air support as “excellent.”
The advance to Ain Issa puts the Kurdish forces and smaller Syrian rebel groups fighting alongside them just 30 km from Raqqa, IS’ de facto capital.
