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IS militants flee surrounding of Syrian Kurdish city: activists

Xinhua, February 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The militants of the Islamic State (IS) have started fleeing the countryside of the predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab, or Kobane, in northern Syria, amid the advancement of Kurdish militants there, a monitoring group reported Monday.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are continuing their progress in the countryside of Ayn al-Arab, mainly the eastern, southern, and southwestern outskirts of the city, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The YPG have dislodged the IS militants from over 30 villages around Ayn al-Arab since they fully captured the city on Jan. 26, said the Observatory, adding that the IS are fleeing their positions in the surroundings of the city amid the progress of the YPG.

At least 10 IS fighters have been killed over the past 24 hours of clashes, the watchdog said.

The IS unleashed its wide-scale offensive for controlling Ayn al-Arab in September last year. The terror-designated group hoisted its flag for the first time at the outskirts of the city in October 2014.

Intense clashes and shelling between both sides continued throughout the months, before the YPG and affiliated groups on Monday fully regained control of all of the areas that have fallen to IS in the city.

The months-long battles resulted in the killing of 979 IS fighters and 324 combatants of the YPG, according to the Observatory. Endit