Kurds, Syrian Rebels Seize Border Town from ISIS

Kurdish fighters and Syrian rebels were in full control of the key border town of Tal Abyad on Tuesday, activists said, after pushing out Islamic State fighters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants fled to villages south and west of the city, and that a large number of land mines had been planted in Tal Abyad.

Seizing the city on the Turkish border cuts off an Islamic State group supply route to its main city of Raqqa located about 100 kilometers to the south.  The militants have used the corridor to smuggle weapons and fighters into Syria and to achieve a key source of funding by selling oil on the black market.

Fighting in the area has sent thousands of Syrian civilians across the border to find safety in Turkey.