(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian rebels have thwarted a major attack by the Islamic State on Marea town in the northern countryside of Aleppo, killing and wounding dozens, local reporter said Saturday.
The ISIS attack launched overnight to take the strategic town after seizing control of array of villages on Friday, such an attack has been failed as the radical group press rapid advances on the Turkish border.
ISIS fighters have also captured territory from rebels near the Turkish border on Friday and inched closer to Azaz town.
The ultra-hardline group has been fighting against rebels in the area for several months. The rebels, who are supplied via Turkey, last month staged a major push against Islamic State, but the group counter-attacked and beat them back.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday's advance was the biggest by IS in Aleppo province for two years. It brought the jihadists to within 5 km (3 miles) of Azaz, a town near the border with Turkey through which insurgents have been supplied.
A Syrian NGO operating in the area said the latest assault by ISIS had displaced 40,000 more people toward Turkey.
The advance also cut rebel supply lines from Azaz to the town of Marea farther southeast, isolating the latter from other rebel-held areas, the Observatory said.
In April, Islamic State militants seized another strategic town near the Turkish border from rebel factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
The IS advances on Friday encroach on a corridor of rebel-held territory that leads from the Turkish border toward Aleppo city, which is divided between insurgent and government control. (With Reuters)
The ISIS attack launched overnight to take the strategic town after seizing control of array of villages on Friday, such an attack has been failed as the radical group press rapid advances on the Turkish border.
ISIS fighters have also captured territory from rebels near the Turkish border on Friday and inched closer to Azaz town.
The ultra-hardline group has been fighting against rebels in the area for several months. The rebels, who are supplied via Turkey, last month staged a major push against Islamic State, but the group counter-attacked and beat them back.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday's advance was the biggest by IS in Aleppo province for two years. It brought the jihadists to within 5 km (3 miles) of Azaz, a town near the border with Turkey through which insurgents have been supplied.
A Syrian NGO operating in the area said the latest assault by ISIS had displaced 40,000 more people toward Turkey.
The advance also cut rebel supply lines from Azaz to the town of Marea farther southeast, isolating the latter from other rebel-held areas, the Observatory said.
In April, Islamic State militants seized another strategic town near the Turkish border from rebel factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
The IS advances on Friday encroach on a corridor of rebel-held territory that leads from the Turkish border toward Aleppo city, which is divided between insurgent and government control. (With Reuters)
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