20171776 Club
SDF commander Felat declares Tabqa Dam captured; the last 14 fighters surrendered this afternoon
Sealed in the control room without light, air, or radio contact for 49 days, the Chechen and French African holdouts give up at 4 p.m., handing the SDF Syria's largest dam and a city of 80,000.
The last holdouts inside Tabqa Dam were 14 Chechen and French African Islamic State fighters, sealed in the control room without light, fresh air, or working radios — the U.S.-led coalition had jammed their frequencies. On May 10, 2017, they surrendered, and SDF commander Rojda Felat declared the dam fully captured at 4 p.m. The 49-day Battle of Tabqa had secured Syria's largest dam, cleared a city of roughly 80,000, and positioned the Syrian Democratic Forces for their final drive on Raqqa — the Islamic State's self-declared capital — six weeks away…
