Kurdish-led Syrian forces ‘completely liberate’ Tabqa from Islamic State

Kurdish-led Syrian forces ‘completely liberate’ Tabqa from Islamic State

Posted on May 11, 2017


Kurdish YPG fighters in Tabqa city, Syria April 30, 2017. Photo: Syrian Democratic Forces SDF via AP

BEIRUT,— A US-backed Kurdish-led forces on Wednesday captured Syria’s Tabqa and its nearby dam from the Islamic State group, a day after Washington said it would arm the force’s Kurdish fighters.

The YPG makes up the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF, which on Wednesday scored a major victory against IS in the Syrian city of Tabqa.

The SDF said it had “completely liberated” Tabqa and the adjacent dam after weeks of fierce fighting.

“The combing operations are ongoing to ensure that the city is clear,” said spokesman Talal Sello.

Tabqa sits on the Euphrates River as well as a strategic supply route about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqqa, the Syrian heart of IS’s so-called caliphate.

The UN has warned damage to the Tabqa dam — Syria’s largest — could lead to massive flooding, and a source who works with the dam’s technicians said they had fled the structure as fighting drew near in recent days.

“Tomorrow (Thursday), the teams will assess the dam and the level of damage caused by the clashes,” the source told AFP.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday “authorised the Department of Defense to equip Kurdish forces of the SDF as necessary to ensure a clear victory over IS in Raqqa,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.

U.S regards the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party PYD and its powerful military wing YPG, which is part of SDF, as key ally against Islamic State and the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has provided them with arms, air support as well as the military advisers. The Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from IS.

Turkey slammed the US decision to arm the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers terrorists but which Washington sees as an indispensable ally in the fight against IS.

The issue risks stoking tensions between the two countries less than week before US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet for the first time as heads of state.

Warplanes from the US-led coalition have pounded Tabqa and nearby IS positions for weeks as part of the SDF’s flagship offensive for Raqqa.

The YPG said the US’s “historic” decision to begin providing it with weapons and other equipment would speed up its assault on IS positions.

Spokesman Redur Xelil said the move was “somewhat late”, but would still “provide a strong impetus” to forces fighting IS.

But this sparked ire from Turkey, which regards the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which since 1984 has waged an insurgency inside Turkey, leaving tens of thousands dead.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately,”

“I will personally express our worries in a detailed way when we talk with President Trump on May 16,” he added, saying NATO’s Brussels summit on May 25 would also tackle the issue.

http://ekurd.net/syrian-kurdish-liberate-tabqa-2017-05-11