Islamic State militants captured several villages from Syrian rebels in a counter-attack near the Turkish border that forced the foreign-backed insurgents to retreat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The rebels, whom Turkey has supported with tanks and air strikes, had been pushing towards the IS stronghold of Dabiq, a village with symbolic importance to the jihadists.
The IS attack, which began late on Friday, retook villages including Akhtarin and pushed towards Turkman Bareh, some 3 km east of Dabiq, said the British-based Observatory, which tracks the war using contacts on the ground.