U.S.-backed fighters capture Islamic State-held town in northeast Syria - monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian fighters including the Kurdish YPG militia captured an Islamic State-held town in Syria's northeast on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The capture of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province came three days after the beginning of an offensive against Islamic State in the area by the Syria Democratic Forces backed by U.S.-led air strikes, and would help isolate Raqqa, the jihadists' de-facto capital in Syria.