AFP, Beirut :
Syrian Kurdish forces regained full control of Tal Abyad on Wednesday, expelling Islamic State group fighters who had seized a district of the strategic border town, a monitor said.
“Kurdish fighters expelled IS from the Mashur al-Fawqani district that they had captured yesterday (Tuesday),” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said at least three fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and four IS jihadists were killed in clashes on Wednesday.
YPG spokesman Redur Khalil confirmed that the town had been secured.
“The Daesh group that entered the Mashur al-Fawqani district… was eliminated completely and expelled from the area,” he told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
He said three IS fighters had been killed in the fighting, and a fourth died detonating an explosive belt.
Tal Abyad, on the border with Turkey, was formerly an IS stronghold, which served as a key conduit for the group to bring in weapons and fighters, and export black market oil.
But just over two weeks ago, Kurdish forces, backed by Syrian rebel allies and US-led air strikes, seized the town from the extremist group.
IS forces launched a surprise attack against the town on Tuesday, overrunning the Mashur al-Fawqani district in heavy fighting.
But by late Wednesday morning, the town was back under full Kurdish control, the Observatory said.
The ground forces were backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.
The battle for Tal Abyad prompted tens of thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Turkey, with the influx at times causing chaos.
But after YPG and rebel forces secured the town, many residents began to return from Turkey.
Kurdish forces have battled IS in several areas in the northern Syrian region along the border with Turkey.
In January, they secured the Kurdish border town of Kobane, which IS forces had been trying to capture for about four months.
Afterwards, the Kurds and their Arab allies began chipping away at IS territory in their stronghold province of Raqa, where the jihadist group’s de facto Syrian capital is located.
But shortly after taking Tal Abyad from IS, the Kurds came under attack again in Kobane.
A group of IS fighters infiltrated the town after carrying out several car bomb attacks, and slaughtered more than 200 people inside over the course of two days before finally being pushed back out
Syrian Kurdish forces regained full control of Tal Abyad on Wednesday, expelling Islamic State group fighters who had seized a district of the strategic border town, a monitor said.
“Kurdish fighters expelled IS from the Mashur al-Fawqani district that they had captured yesterday (Tuesday),” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said at least three fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and four IS jihadists were killed in clashes on Wednesday.
YPG spokesman Redur Khalil confirmed that the town had been secured.
“The Daesh group that entered the Mashur al-Fawqani district… was eliminated completely and expelled from the area,” he told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
He said three IS fighters had been killed in the fighting, and a fourth died detonating an explosive belt.
Tal Abyad, on the border with Turkey, was formerly an IS stronghold, which served as a key conduit for the group to bring in weapons and fighters, and export black market oil.
But just over two weeks ago, Kurdish forces, backed by Syrian rebel allies and US-led air strikes, seized the town from the extremist group.
IS forces launched a surprise attack against the town on Tuesday, overrunning the Mashur al-Fawqani district in heavy fighting.
But by late Wednesday morning, the town was back under full Kurdish control, the Observatory said.
The ground forces were backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.
The battle for Tal Abyad prompted tens of thousands of refugees to flee across the border into Turkey, with the influx at times causing chaos.
But after YPG and rebel forces secured the town, many residents began to return from Turkey.
Kurdish forces have battled IS in several areas in the northern Syrian region along the border with Turkey.
In January, they secured the Kurdish border town of Kobane, which IS forces had been trying to capture for about four months.
Afterwards, the Kurds and their Arab allies began chipping away at IS territory in their stronghold province of Raqa, where the jihadist group’s de facto Syrian capital is located.
But shortly after taking Tal Abyad from IS, the Kurds came under attack again in Kobane.
A group of IS fighters infiltrated the town after carrying out several car bomb attacks, and slaughtered more than 200 people inside over the course of two days before finally being pushed back out
