Kurdish militia advanced Sunday to the gates of a strategic jihadist-held town on Syria's northern border with Turkey amid fierce fighting with the Daesh group, a local commander told AFP.

"The clashes are ongoing now on the eastern edges of Tal Abyad, 50 metres (yards) from the town. We are fighting for control of the first checkpoint," said Hussein Khojer, a commander with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Tal Abyad lies on the Syrian-Turkish border and is used by Daesh as a gateway from Turkey into its bastion province of Raqa.