Tell Abyad
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.