US-backed Syrian forces repelled a major counter-attack by Islamic State militants holding out at the country's largest dam and in the nearby town of Tabqa, the group and activists said on Sunday. Jehan Sheikh Ahmad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, said the militants were stepping up their resistance as SDF forces got closer to encircling the town and the dam. "Our forces are advancing ... [Islamic State] are facing large difficulties and so they are starting counter-attacks," said the official whose forces have US special forces with them. FEAR OF COLLAPSEHundreds of families with their cattle, property, motor bikes and vans continued on Sunday to flee from villages under Islamic State control. The US-backed forces say at least 7,000 people have taken shelter in their areas since the campaign to capture Tabqa.

Source: Egypt Independent April 02, 2017 14:26 UTC