U.S.-backed Syrian rebel forces seized a small airport used as a base by Islamic State near the Iraq border early Wednesday.
The Hamdan air base had served as an Islamic State outpost strategically near the city of Al-Bukamal, just a few kilometers from the Iraqi frontier.
The airbase was captured just hours after an offensive was launched Tuesday seeking to cut the terrorist group's transit link between Syria and Iraq.
Islamic State took control of Al-Bukamal in 2014, which, for their military operations, effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria.
The 18-month-old New Syria Army continued their offensive with U.S. support to retake the city on Wednesday - a move that would serve as both a symbolic and strategic blow to the jihadists' self-declared cross-border "caliphate", as it would limit Islamic State transit and coordination between the two countries.
Just this week Iraqi forces liberated the city of Fallujah from Islamic State fighters, following a month-long military offensive to seize control.
