US-backed fighters hunt for Daesh holdouts in Syria’s Tabaqa

TABAQA, Syria — US-backed fighters hunted for extremist holdouts in Syria's Tabaqa on Thursday after overrunning the city and nearby dam in a step forward for their advance on the Daesh terror group stronghold Raqqa.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) scored one of their biggest victories against Daesh extremists as controversy intensified over a US decision to arm the alliance's Kurdish component.

The SDF was conducting clearance operations after seizing Tabaqa and the nearby dam on Wednesday, said the Syrian observatory for Human Rights.

"The SDF were able to deploy onto the dam itself during the night," the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman said. "But civilians are still unable to enter some parts of Tabqa because of explosives" left by Daesh.

The US military command in the Middle East, Centcom, confirmed the "liberation" of Tabaqa.

"The SDF's increased pressure on ISIS [Daesh] from each flank allowed it to... clear the final neighbourhoods of the city and isolate Tabaqa Dam," said Centcom.

The Arab-Kurdish alliance accepted Daesh  surrender to protect civilians and the dam, it said, adding "the coalition tracked fleeing fighters and targeted those that could be safely hit".

Situated on the Euphrates River about 55 kilometres upstream from Raqqa, Tabaqa is a key waypost in the operation to capture the extremists’ de facto Syrian capital.

Operation Wrath of the Euphrates has seen the SDF capture large swathes of territory north of Raqqa and at their closest point its fighters are just eight kilometres from the city. 

It is now working to tighten the noose before a final assault.

Celebrations in Tabaqa 

The battle for Tabaqa was marked by fears that fighting could damage the nearby dam — Syria's largest — with the potential for catastrophic flooding. 

Technicians fled the dam as fighting intensified in recent days, a source who works closely with them told AFP.

A repair team was on standby on Thursday, awaiting permission from the SDF, which was still clearing mines, to enter and assess any damage to the structure.

An AFP correspondent saw SDF fighters distributing sweets to their comrades as they celebrated at the dam overlooking Lake Assad, a large reservoir created by the facility in the 1970s.

The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), seen by the US as an indispensable ally in the fight against Daesh but considered a "terrorist group" by Turkey.

YPG video footage on Thursday showed half a dozen fighters and youths dancing in Tabaqa, and children calling out excitedly: "The dam has been liberated." 

Washington has stepped up its support for the YPG in recent days, announcing it would arm the Kurdish fighters in a break with its previous policy of arming only the SDF's Arab fighters.

The move has infuriated NATO ally Ankara.

The US-led coalition said a first consignment of weapons was already in place for delivery and could be dispatched to the Kurds "very quickly".

The arms include heavy machineguns to be used against Daesh truck bombs, mortars, small arms and ammunition, as well as armoured vehicles and equipment to detect landmines, said coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian.

"Every single one of these weapons that are being provided to our partner force, we intend to account for them, and to ensure that they are pointed at ISIS," he added.

Turkey slams US 'mistake' 

But Washington's reassurances failed to assuage Ankara, which regards the YPG as the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Turkey since 1984. 

"YPG and PKK are both terror groups, there is no difference at all between them. They only have different names," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

On Thursday, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in London, although it was not immediately clear if they discussed the arming of the YPG. 

The issue is set to dominate talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his American counterpart Donald Trump next week, the first meeting between the two heads of state. 

"I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately," Erdogan said.

In fighting elsewhere on Thursday, government forces gained ground in the capital's Qabun district, as the regime presses efforts to push insurgents into an evacuation deal and to clear Damascus of armed groups, the observatory said.