Ribal Al-Assad welcomes advances against Islamists in Syria

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US-backed alliance advances against Islamist groups in Syria’s north: spokesman

REUTERS

A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters advanced against Islamist insurgents in the north of the country on Friday, capturing at least one village in Aleppo province, a spokesman and a monitoring group said.

Fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria seized the village of Tanab near the town of Azaz after heavy clashes with the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the powerful Ahrar al Sham, spokesman Talal Selo told Reuters.

"We liberated Tanab," he said.

Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Democratic Forces of Syria had also captured the village of Tat Mrash. Selo said he could not yet confirm its capture.

It came just days after the alliance seized a dam from Islamic State further east, cutting one of its main supply routes across the Euphrates.

Since the U.S.-backed alliance was formed last October, its fighters have opened several major offensives against Islamic State with the ultimate goal of capturing Raqqa.

The alliance has separately been fighting in recent weeks against Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham and other insurgents in northern Aleppo province.

The Democratic Forces of Syria includes the Kurdish YPG militia, which has been the most effective partner on the ground for U.S.-led air strikes.

Iman Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad, welcomed the news.

“The successes of the Democratic Forces of Syria against extremist Islamic forces is a very welcome development,” he said.

“It is imperative that groups such as al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Islamic State and all those who share the same perverted ideology are militarily and ideologically defeated.

“There can be no peace in Syria until Islamic extremism is completely taken out of the picture.

“We must hope and pray that the Democratic Forces of Syria and other moderate groups will continue to push back the forces of extremism. This will build the necessary space for a true democratic dialogue and the possibility of a lasting peace.”