United States-backed local forces gained important ground Sunday in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.
Forces on the ground said they have taken full control of a former Syrian army airport near the city of Tabqa along the Euphrates River.
The capture of Tabqa airbase comes as the alliance prepares an attack on the Islamic State’s de facto Syrian capital Raqa, seeking to effectively surround the city before launching its assault.
The Syrian Democratic Forces are also battling for the nearby Tabqa dam, held by IS, which was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a technical source there told AFP.
‘The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully,’ said spokesman Talal Sello.
They entered the airport earlier Sunday, backed by heavy artillery fire and air strikes by the US-led coalition, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
The Islamic State seized the base from government troops in August 2014 and carried out one of its worst massacres there, killing up to 200 government soldiers.
With support from the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq, SDF fighters have inched closer to Raqa, taking territory to the north and east.
At their closest point, they are just eight kilometers (five miles) from the city, to the northeast.
But they are mostly further away, between 18 and 29 kilometers from Raqa.
Earlier this week, US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind IS lines to allow them to launch the Tabqa assault, and on Friday the alliance reached one of the dam’s entrances.
More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since its conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
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