Kurdish fighters "have taken near-total control of Ras al-Ain after fierce battles raged since (Tuesday) evening, pitting (Kurds) against Al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other groups", said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Ras al-Ain is home to a majority Kurdish population and is of strategic importance given its location close to Turkey.

Its fighters are trying to ensure neither the regime of President Bashar al-Assad nor the opposition takes control of its areas.