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Kurdish fighters control 90 pct of Syria's Ayn al-Arab: report

Xinhua, January 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kurdish fighters now control around 90 percent of the predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria, a monitoring group reported Monday.

The People's Protection Units (YPG) advanced recently in several areas in Ayn al-Arab, or also known as Kobane, after months-long battles with the Islamic State (IS) militant group, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The IS has become cornered in the eastern rim of Ayn al-Arab, said the Observatory, adding that the IS sent a battalion of around 140 fresh combatants, the majority of whom under 18.

It said six of those young combatants were recently killed in clashes with the YPG.

In late 2014, the IS unleashed a widescale offensive against Ayn al-Arab due to its strategic location on the borders with Turkey.

However, Kurdish fighters, aided by U.S.-led air strikes, have weakened IS control of the city. Endit