'IS' attack on Syrian border town

So-called Islamic State (IS) fighters have launched a surprise attack on a Syrian border town recently seized by US-backed Kurdish forces, taking positions in the eastern part of the town and waging fierce gun battles with its defenders, activists said.

The attack on Tal Abyad resembled another surprise assault by the IS group last week on the border town of Kobani, where Kurdish forces backed by US-led airstrikes had driven out the extremists in January.