Islamic State forces on Monday re-captured the town of Ain Issa, which had been seized by Kurdish YPG fighters two weeks ago. The town lies on a strategic intersection leading to other IS-controlled territories, including the extremist group's self-declared capital in Raqqa 30 miles to the south. Image from Google Maps.
AIN ISSA, Syria, July 7 (UPI) -- Islamic State forces recaptured from Kurdish fighters a strategic Syrian town north of the extremist group's de facto capital, the latest in a series of counter-thrusts against recent Kurdish gains over the group.
Kurdish YPG forces captured the town of Ain Issa two weeks ago. The town lies on an intersection of roads leading to IS-controlled lands to the east in Hassakeh province, the west in Aleppo province, and just 30 miles south to Raqqa, the extremist group's self-declared capital city.
IS forces recaptured Ain Issa and several surrounding villages on Monday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The YPG, backed by allied Arab militias and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, have since been counter-attacking IS forces in the area. SOHR, a Britain-based group monitoring the Syrian civil war, reports YPG forces on Tuesday re-captured several villages seized by IS militants around Ain Issa over the past 24 hours.
YPG forces have also begun a counterattack into the western side of Ain Issa, according to SOHR.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday said the air campaign against IS in northern Syria was "intensifying."
"As with any military effort, there will be periods of progress but there are also going to be some setbacks, as we've seen with ISIL's gains in Ramadi in Iraq and in central and southern Syria," Obama said at the Pentagon, using another name for the group.
U.S. Central Command on Sunday reported 26 airstrikes against IS positions near Hassakeh, Raqqa and Kobani.
According to SOHR, U.S.-led coalition airstrikes played a "very significant role" in YPG forces' ability to recapture 10 villages and the town of al-Sharakrak, northeast of Ain Issa, over the past two days. A reported 78 IS fighters have been killed in the region since Sunday.
IS forces have suffered a series of setbacks along the Syria-Turkey border, losing Kobani to the YPG in January and a vital supply point at Tell Abiad last month. The group has attempted counter-attacking both cities with limited gains.
