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1st LD: IS withdraws from Syria's Tabqa as Kurdish-led groups take over

Xinhua, May 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Islamic State (IS) group withdrew from the city of Tabqa in northern Syria on Thursday, as the city has become completely under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a monitor group reported.

The IS started withdrawing from Tabqa in the western countryside of Raqqa Province, after agreeing to a deal struck between local delegations of Tabqa and the SDF.

The deal allows the IS militants stuck in the city to leave through passageways controlled by the SDF toward Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog said the city and the strategic Euphrates Dam have become under the SDF control, adding that some IS militants who refused to leave could still be in the city as gunfire is still being heard.

The SDF's advance toward Tabqa is part of a major military campaign against Raqqa by the Kurdish-led group, which is largely backed by a U.S.-led anti-terror coalition. Endit