Turkish-backed rebels have captured the symbolically important Syrian town of Dabiq from the Islamic State group, rebel commanders and monitors say.
The rebels took Dabiq after “IS members withdrew”, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The small northern town holds great value for IS because of a prophecy of an apocalyptic battle, and features heavily in its propaganda.
The advance on Dabiq is part of a wider offensive by Syrian rebel groups.
Ahmed Osman, the commander of the Sultan Murad rebel group, told Reuters news agency on Sunday morning that the group had also recaptured the neighbouring village of Soran.
Dabiq is just 10km (6 miles) from the border with Turkey.
In August, Turkey launched an offensive to clear the border region of militants.
In September, the Turkish prime minister said the 91km borderline was “entirely secured” and “all the terrorist organisations were pushed back”.
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Source: BBC