Kurds Flee as Islamic State Captures Syrian Border Villages

Islamic State fighters backed by tanks and artillery have captured 21 Kurdish villages in Syria in the past 24 hours, triggering an exodus by residents, the head of the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The villages, around the town of Ayn al-Arab near the Turkish border, were seized following fierce clashes that began on Sept. 16 between the militant group and the Kurdish force known as the People’s Protection Units, Rami Abdurrahman said by phone.