Syrian Kurdish Fighters Seize ISIL-Held Town on Turkish Border

Syria's Kurdish forces reportedly have taken control over ISIL militant’s stronghold in the town of Tel Abyad.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Syria's Kurdish forces have taken control over ISIL militant’s stronghold in the town of Tel Abyad in Raqqa province near the Turkish border, the BBC reported Monday.

The People's Protection Units (YPG), one of the armed Kurdish forces in Syria, began advancing into the region on Sunday. The YPG offensive was backed by Syrian rebel groups and the US-led coalition’s airstrikes.

"The whole city is under our control and there is no more fighting," Huseyin Kocher, a Kurdish YPG commander in Tal Abyad told the BBC.

According to the broadcaster, the Kurdish fighters managed to cut off a key supply route for the ISIL militants on the way to the group’s headquarters in Raqqa.

Violent clashes between the Islamist militants and Syria’s Kurdish militia forced thousands of Syrians to cross the Syria-Turkish border and become refugees.

About 3,000 people arrived at the border check-point on Monday, Turkish state television reported earlier in the day.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011. The government is also battling against several insurgent groups, including the ISIL.