Key victory in drive to capture ISIS ‘capital’

U.S.-BACKED fighters captured a village in northern Syria on Saturday from ISIS, bringing them closer to cutting a road linking two major ISIS-held cities in the country and closing in on the extremists’ de facto capital.

The push came as Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned that if the predominantly Kurdish force eventually entered the city of Raqqa, the de facto ISIS capital, it will have negative effects on the relations between Ankara and Washington.

The Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces has been on the offensive toward Raqqa since November. Still, once they approach the city the battle is expected to be bloody and long because the extremists have set up fortifications and have thousands of battle-hardened fighters.

Officials said Saturday that the predominantly Kurdish force captured the village of Jawees.

Syria Democratic Forces fighters are getting close to cutting the road that the extremists use to travel between Raqqa and the eastern city of Deir el-Zour. The fighters now control most of the villages and towns north of Raqqa and are gaining ground in eastern areas.

The loss of Raqqa would be a major blow to the extremists, because it was one of the first cities they fully controlled before declaring a caliphate in June 2014 in large parts of Syria and Iraq.