ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Rebel forces backed by Turkey have taken control of fourteen villages in the Dabiq area in the past 24 hours, a monitor reported. Turkish tanks and warplanes are assisting rebel forces to seize control of towns and villages surrounding the strategic town “in preparation of attack the town of Dabiq or to force the organization to withdraw,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday. The Observatory said that rebel forces have taken control of fourteen villages in the past 24 hours: Braghidah, al-Bul, Jazir, Sheikh Rih, Kafrghan, Ghazal, Yahmoul, al-Adiyyah, al-Toqli, Shwirin, Tal Hussein, Mrighel, Rael, and Fairuziyyah. Dabiq is a small northern Syrian village that is a theological heartland for Islamic State (ISIS). According to one reading of ISIS doctrine, the final battle between good and evil will take place here. Last week, rebel forces took control of Turkman Bareh, a few kilometres east of Dabiq, with the assistance of the US-led coalition. US special forces were reportedly headed towards Dabiq in mid-September.
