Kurdish fighters in Syria on the march against IS militants

[European Knight]

Kurdish fighters in Syria on the march against IS militants

BEIRUT (AP) — In contrast to the Iraqi army's failures, Kurdish fighters in Syria are on the march against the Islamic State group, capturing towns and villages in an oil-rich swath of the country's northeast under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes.

As the Kurds close in on Tel Abyad, a major commercial center on the Turkish border, their advance highlights the decisive importance of combining airstrikes with the presence of a cohesive and motivated ally on the ground — so clearly absent in Iraq.

In Syria, a country now split mostly between al-Qaida-style militants and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, the U.S. has found a reliable partner in the country's main Kurdish fighting force, known as the YPG. They are moderate,

mostly secular fighters, driven by revolutionary fervor and deep conviction in their cause.

Since the beginning of May, they have wrested back more than 200 Kurdish and Christian towns in northeastern Syria, as well as strategic mountains seized earlier by IS. Along the way, they have picked up ammunition, weapons and

vehicles left behind by Islamic State fighters.

[Halgurd]

While all sides are losing against ISIS, only the Kurds have been able to defeat them. YPG expelled ISIS from 4000 square km in al-Hasakah in 20 days. YPG has also announced the campaign for the liberation of Gire Spi (Tal Abyad)

[Rewaz]

Kurdish Fighters are fighting ISIS instead of all the world. I hope success for them.