Monitor: Kurds Almost Control Syrian City

A monitoring group says Kurdish forces have seized almost full control of the Syrian border of Tal Abyad from the Islamic State (IS) group after forcing most of the militants to flee.

The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said "Kurdish fighters are in almost full control of Tal Abyad."

Abdel Rahman said there were still "some small pockets of resistance from small groups of Islamic State fighters who are still holed up inside."

Tal Abyad is located on a vital supply road linking it to the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

Earlier, the U.S. military said American and coalition forces launched 16 air strikes targeting IS militants in nine Iraqi cities on June 14.

The Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement June 15 that the Iraqi strikes destroyed Islamic State vehicles, buildings, tunnel systems, bunkers, and weaponry near cities including Makhmur, Mosul, Ramadi, Sinjar, and Tal Afar.

Coalition forces launched three air strikes against the militants in the Syrian cities of Kobani and Al-Hasaka, destroying two motorcycles, tunnels, fighting positions, and a communication tower, the statement said.

Based on reporting by Reuter and AFP