http://www.smh.com.au/world/islamic-...01-ghe4fj.html

Beirut: Islamic State militants are reported to be closing in on a strategic border town in north-western Syria's Aleppo province, near the Turkish frontier, after routing rival rebel groups.

The attack appeared to signal another territorial gain for the breakaway al-Qaeda faction, which has recently seized the central Syrian city of Palmyra and the western Iraqi city of Ramadi.

Pro-opposition activists hostile to IS said on Sunday that the militants in their latest thrust had overrun the village of Soran, east of the Syrian border town of Azaz, and nearby areas.

IS forces were widely expected to assault Azaz, which has been in the hands of insurgents hostile to Islamic State for more than a year.

The town is a strategic prize because of its proximity to the giant Bab al-Salam border crossing into Turkey, a major transit point for goods and supplies entering northern Syria. Turkey, which shares a more than 800-kilometre border with Syria, is a vital logistics and resupply hub for a broad range of armed Syrian opposition groups.

Since Syria's conflict began in 2011, rebel factions in control of border posts have been positioned both to supply their forces expeditiously and to collect fees from truckers and others entering Syria.