Syrian Kurdish forces to push on IS capital this summer

In this undated photo released Thursday, May 11, 2017, by Hawar News, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, shows fighters from the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, patrolling on a street in Tabqa, northern Syria. Syrian Kurdish-led forces say they are carrying out mine-clearing operations at the country's largest dam and the nearby town of Tabqa a day after seizing them from Islamic State militants. Concerns were raised earlier this year that the dam could be damaged in the fighting or degraded by lack of maintenance, or that the extremists might sabotage it to flood the surrounding areas. (Hawar News Agency, via AP) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters say they expect to push on and capture the Islamic State group's de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria this summer, after receiving heavy weapons from the U.S. military.

The force — known as Syrian Democratic Forces — has been buoyed following this week's capture of the key town of Tabqa and the nearby dam, Syria's largest. The advance left no significant IS-held urban settlements between SDF lines and Raqqa.

An SDF commander, identified only as Abdelqader, declined to specify dates at a press conference on Friday, citing tactical reasons.

The announcement is a snub to Turkey, which doesn't want the Syrian Kurdish-led force to take the city, offering its own troops instead. Ankara is also enraged by U.S. plans to arm the Syrian Kurds.