According to media reports, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militant group released 300 people who had been taken prisoner, in exchange for a captured militant commander named Abu Musab, in Tal Abyad located in northern province of al-Raqqa.

The advance comes just days after Kurdish fighters loyal to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) expelled extremists loyal to al-Nusra Front and the ISIS from the strategic Kurdish town of Ras al-Ain.

Dozens of extremist militants as well as Kurdish fighters were killed in five days of fighting in Ras al-Ain.

Clashes raged during the night from Friday to Saturday, pitting (Kurdish fighters) against al-Nusra Front, ISIS and other militant groups near the villages of Tal Alu, Karhuk and Ali Agha.

Kurdish fighters have been collecting civilian volunteer fighters to defend Kurdish regions from terrorists linked to al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front.

Kurdish regions have been run by local Kurdish councils since Syrian army forces withdrew from the areas in mid-2012.

Since then, the Kurds have been trying to maintain security while strengthening control over their own affairs.

The war in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government boosts its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.

Washington has remained indifferent about warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.

SHI/SHI