After Tabqa fall, SDF looks for ISIS dens

US-backed fighters hunted for jihadist holdouts in Syria’s Tabqa on Thursday after overrunning the city and nearby dam in a step forward for their advance on Islamic State group stronghold Raqa.

The Syrian Democratic Forces scored one of their biggest victories against ISIS as controversy intensified over a US decision to arm the alliance’s Kurdish component. The SDF seized Tabqa and the nearby dam on Wednesday and was conducting clearance operations on Thursday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“The SDF were able to deploy onto the dam itself during the night,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

“But civilians are still unable to enter some parts of Tabqa because of explosives” left by ISIS, he added. Situated on the Euphrates River about 55km upstream from Raqa, Tabqa is a key way post in the operation to capture the jihadists’ de facto Syrian capital.

Operation Wrath of the Euphrates has seen the SDF capture large swathes of territory north of Raqa and at their closest point its fighters are just 8km from the city. They are now working to tighten the noose before a final assault. The offensive has been supported by bombing raids by a

US-led coalition, as well as coalition military advisors on the ground. The battle for Tabqa was marked by fears that fighting could damage the nearby dam, Syria’s largest, with the potential for catastrophic flooding.

Technicians fled the dam as fighting intensified in recent days, a source that works closely with them said. A repair team was on standby on Thursday, awaiting permission from the SDF to enter and assess any damage to the structure.

The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units seen by the US as an indispensable ally in the fight against ISIS but considered a “terrorist group” by Turkey.