ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish forces in Syria have taken over a key road from the Islamic State group, cutting road links between Turkey and the ISIS stronghold city of Raqqa in Syria, a military source said.
He said that, by controlling the route, the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) have cut off supplies to Raqqa, which ISIS calls the capital of its “caliphate.”
“This is the only passage linking Turkey with the extremist group's main base” the source claimed.
The Kurdish forces took over the road after entering the city of Tal Abyad, which is also known as Gire Sipi.
The loss of the road means that ISIS no longer has a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies.
The recent military advances by the Kurds in Syria are helped by intense US-led coalition airstrikes in the area.
Sources said that the captured of Tal Abyad is a very strategic move for the Kurdish fighters. It links the Kurdish-controlled territories of Hasaka province to territories in the west and with Kobane in the east.
Over the past 10 days, due to intense fighting, more than 13,000 people have fled the region and sought refuge in Turkey.
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