Syrian regime forces and Kurdish militia fought separate battles with ISIS Monday in a strategic area near the Iraqi and Turkish borders, an activist group said.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that after three days of clashes, regime forces bolstered by fighters from Arab tribes had secured control over 23 villages in the center of the province from ISIS.

YPG spokesman Redur Khalil confirmed to AFP that the Kurdish fighters were conducting "attack-and-retreat operations with ISIS on two fronts.

ISIS launched an attack last week on the areas around Kurdish-controlled Tal Tamr and kidnapped 220 Assyrian Christians from 11 towns.

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