Advance to Suluk On 31 May, Kurdish forces seized four villages on the provincial boundary between Al-Hasakah and
Raqqa. At the same time, Kurdish and FSA forces in the eastern Kobanî Canton launched a large offensive eastward towards
Tell Abyad, with the YPG and FSA forces on both frontlines numbering at least 4,000. Over 35 ISIL militants were reportedly killed in the Kurdish-led offensive on 1 June. On 2 June, ISIL was reported to have dispatched 1,500 fighters to the Tell Abyad region as reinforcements, mostly to the west of Tell Abyad, to halt the Kurdish advance. Between 8 and 9 June, YPG and allied forces captured two villages to the east of the town of Suluk. The fighting left 21 ISIL militants, including commanders, dead. On 10 June, YPG and allied forces captured a hill and five villages east of Suluk, while a number of displaced people from the town reached Raqqa city. Between 11 and 12 June, YPG and allied forces captured the eastern part of Suluk, and some villages near it, but were forced to retreat from Salouk due to planted mines the next day. and their units advanced in the eastern countryside of Kobani. That day, thousands of Syrians from the region sought refugee in Turkey, but were pushed back by Turkish forces. Meanwhile, ISIL blew up the main bridge east of Tell Abyad, in an attempt to stall the YPG/rebel advance. At least 16 ISIL militants were killed during the day. YPG and allied forces also captured Salouk, after ISIL escaped from the besieged town. The siege lasted for 48 hours. Later that day, a Kurdish activist claimed that Turkey abandoned the border gate, which allowed ISIL fighters to enter Turkey and escape the conflict zone, while Elijah J. Magnier reported that Turkey temporally opened its border for about 2,000 Syrian refugees. According to a Raqqa-based activist, ISIL stripped the Tell Abyad hospital of all of its equipment and moved it to
Raqqa. YPG and allied forces advanced to the southeast and southwest of Tell Abyad, capturing a number of villages, while ISIL blew up two bridges.
Linking of Cantons, capture of Tell Abyad During the night of 14 June, an ISIL suicide bomber detonated himself near a YPG checkpoint in the southwestern countryside of Tell Abyad, killing four YPG fighters and two medical crew members. Meanwhile, YPG and allied forces reportedly entered the town from the west and east. Coalition warplanes reportedly bombed an ISIL HQ inside the town shortly after that. It was reported that around 600 ISIL militants were trapped in Tell Abyad by the advancing YPG and FSA forces, whom were threatening to desert their positions if they did not receive more reinforcements. The Kurdish forces coming in from both the west and east linked up at the village of Qaysariyeh, two miles south of Tell Abyad. Later that day, Kurdish and rebel forces seized the Tell Abyad border crossing and the eastern and southern part of the town. Eleven ISIL militants reportedly surrendered themselves to the Turkish Army, on the other side of the Syrian–Turkish border. Some time later, allied forces captured most of Tell Abyad, while a few pockets of ISIL resistance remained inside the town. Around 40 ISIL militants were killed while attempting to flee the town towards
Ayn Issa. Others successfully fled the town. The next day, YPG and allied forces captured Tell Abyad, and reinforced positions around the town and border crossing, while ISIL reinforced their own positions to the north of Raqqa city. At the same time, the YPG was reported to be bringing reinforcements from the
Al-Hasakah Governorate, to prevent ISIL from reopening the supply routes to Tell Abyad. YPG and FSA forces also entered Ayn Issa on the same day, and despite subsequent reports that they had captured the town, On 17 June, the first refugees returned to Tell Abyad, after they fled to Turkey. That day, hundreds of YPG fighters reached YPG positions in Aleppo Governorate, while a large fire broke out in the countryside to the south of
Kobanî. Later on 17 June, the pocket of ISIL resistance to the west of Tell Abyad collapsed under pressure from YPG and FSA forces, with numerous ISIL commanders bribing their way into Turkey after the ISIL defenses failed. ISIL also began sending reinforcements to its remaining area of control to the south of Tell Abyad. It was also revealed that ISIL forces were still fighting with FSA and YPG fighters for control of Ayn Issa, although YPG and FSA forces had captured some villages just west of Ayn Issa. On 19 June, the YPG, backed by FSA rebels, advanced in the southern countryside of Tell Abyad, capturing a village, and reaching the village of Ali Bajliyya two days later. On the same day, ISIL launched a counterattack from the east of Ayn Issa, recapturing the town, but was unable to push beyond the M4 Highway. It was also revealed that despite the ISIL reinforcements, ISIL had an insufficient number of fighters to hold their positions. The remaining ISIL fighters were reportedly fortifying their positions along the riverbanks of the river near Tell Abyad, as well as the highway connecting Raqqa to Tell Abyad, while maintaining small units to the east of the water course. It was also reported that the ISIL fighters who had escaped into Turkey, from the villages to the west of Tell Abyad, were seeking transportation westward to re-enter Syria in the northern
Aleppo Governorate. ISIL fighters in the area retreated to the east and towards Ayn Issa. On the same day, it was reported that civilians in the town of Ayn Issa were evacuating, in anticipation of the impending clash between the YPG & FSA and ISIL forces. It was also reported that 2,000 civilians who fled Tell Abyad to Turkey had returned. and besieged the town. On 23 June, the YPG and FSA captured Ayn Issa except for the grain silos, after ISIL fighters retreated from the town. However, hours later, two groups of ISIL fighters managed to re-enter Ayn Issa. At the same time, a large migration of civilians from Raqqa city towards al-Tabaqa was reported. At the end of the day, Kurdish forces and FSA fighters were in complete control of Ayn Issa and the surrounding region, bringing them within 50 km (30 miles) of Raqqa city. On the same day, YPG and FSA forces advanced to the south of Tell Abyad, capturing multiple villages. YPG forces also captured the village of Abu Naytulah, to the northwest of Ayn Issa. On 24 June, YPG-led forces captured the village Shakrak, located just east of Ayn Issa. They also captured the village of Khirbat Hadla, to the southwest of Ayn Issa, bringing them within of Raqqa. and consolidating their control of the roads leading to Raqqa. On the same day, it was reported that ISIL militants on the Turkish side of the Syrian-Turkish border were preparing for an assault near Tell Abyad. On 30 June, ISIL raided Tell Abyad, with the help of sleeper cells, seizing a district on the eastern outskirts of the town. The YPG quickly responded and made an attempt to encircle the militants. The next day, the YPG fully regained control of Tell Abyad, killing three ISIL militants, while another had blown himself up with an explosive belt. Two others were injured, but were reported to have escaped into Turkey. including an attack at Sharakrak. On 8 July, the YPG recaptured Ayn Issa. At least 69 ISIL militants and 5 YPG fighters were reportedly killed in the clashes, ==Aftermath==