There are reports the Turkish-backed rebels are now advancing on Kobani, an important Kurdish-majority town on Turkey’s border. It comes a day after the rebels successfully drove the Kurds from the key town of Manbij in northern Syria.

Syrian insurgents took control of the central city of Hama following the retreat of government forces on Thursday, just days after rebels captured most of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city. By Friday, rebels seized the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor while also reaching the outskirts of Homs, the country's third-largest city.