As ISIS awaits one major assault in Mosul, Iraq, the self-declared caliphate has lost its control of a symbolic stronghold in north Syria.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA), a Turkish-backed faction, took back Sunday the town of Dabiq from ISIS, Turkish state media and a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization, said it received reports that groups of ISIS fighters had withdrawn from Dabiq overnight.
Though ISIS forces left, Turkish security sources told Anadolu's reporter the recapture of Dabiq was the hardest part so far for Operation Euphrates Shield.
Now the FSA operation will continue, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu, as fighters seek to clear the town of mines, booby-traps and IEDs.
The small city, which is located about 10 km (just over 6 miles) south of the Turkish-Syrian border, is considered by some Islamic prophecies to be the site of an apocalyptic battle between Christians and Muslims. ISIS has even named its sleek English language magazine used to prominently feature propaganda "Dabiq."