Kurdish forces advanced Sunday to the gates of a Syrian town and clashed with Islamic State jihadists, an upsurge in violence that saw Turkey open its border to fleeing civilians.
Backed by Syrian rebel fighters and US-led air strikes, the Kurdish militia pressed their offensive on the northern town of Tal Abyad, a strategic supply route from Turkey to ISIS's self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa.
Hussein Khojer, a commander with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), said fighting raged on the eastern edges of Tal Abyad, just 50 meters from the town itself.
"We are fighting for control of the first checkpoint," Khojer told AFP in Beirut, adding that the advance came after three days' of heavy clashes.(READ MORE)
