Syrian Kurdish fighters chase IS from key base north of Raqa: NGO

[Bosonic]

Source: AFP

Beirut (AFP) - Syrian Kurdish fighters chased Islamic State militants Monday from a key base north of the jihadists' stronghold city of Raqa, according to a monitoring group.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units -- with US-led air support -- took total control of the Liwa (Brigade) 93 base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that "IS lines of defence were pushed back to the gates of Raqa."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurdish-fighters-chase-key-north-raqa-ngo-220452517.html;_ylt=A0LEVjZqh4hVPqQA.RtjmolQ

[Steviehh]

1. Good luck

US can't back Kurds. Iranians and Turkey wouldn't let them take any valuable territory. Equals oil.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. Uh, the Kurds did that with US air support. And this is Syria, not Turkey.

And the Iranians got nuthin' to do with this particular fight. They're helping Assad, but Assad has pretty much ceded the northeast to ISIS, and they're helping Baghdad fight ISIS in Iraq, but that's in Iraq.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. To the gates of Raqqa? This could be serious.

That's the capital of the caliphate.

[bemildred]

4. Does this mean Obama's strategy is working? nt

[bemildred]

5. ISIS defeat could give coalition blueprint for success

Tal Abyad, Syria (CNN)ISIS has been forced from one of its stronghold outposts, a key access point to its self-declared capital, where it was entrenched for two years. And the defeat along a vital stretch of terrain could be a potential blueprint for more military successes against the militants.

In freshly-liberated Tal Abyad -- not far from the Syria-Turkey border -- the scars of battle are everywhere, as are ISIS booby traps.

ISIS ruled this rural landscape with impunity, fortifying it to defend a vital frontier and a key access point to their capital.

The YPG, the Kurdish fighting force, had tried and failed to capture key towns in the past. ISIS would counter each assault with heavy weapons, car bombs and suicide bombers, each time forcing the YPG to retreat.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/world/arwa-damon-tal-abyad-blueprint-for-success/