BEIRUT (AP) – Islamic State militants on Wednesday pushed back U.S.-trained Syrian rebels from the outskirts of a town on the Iraqi border, in a setback to a budding offensive that aims to sever the militants’ transit link between the two countries, a rebel spokesman said.
The Islamic State-linked Aamaq news agency said IS militants repelled the New Syrian Army from an air base which the rebels had briefly captured earlier in the day. IS said it seized 15 hostages and ammunition, and was still advancing against the rebels.
Earlier Wednesday, the Pentagon-trained force entered the Hamdan air base – northwest of the border town of Boukamal – following intense clashes, rebel spokesman Mozahem al-Saloum said.
He said airborne fighters were dropped from coalition helicopters on Boukamal’s southern edge, helping the rebels advance. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on local activists, confirmed the account.
The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, said foreign airborne fighters were also dropped to the north, enabling the takeover of the base. The rebels were heavily backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and were coordinating their fight with Iraqi tribesmen and forces on the other side of the border, al-Saloum said.