hydroelectric facility in syria. and it was taken as a result of a two-week battle which culminated actually in a negotiated truce with those i.s. fighters inside, about 70 were allowed to leave provided they lay down their weapons and demind the facility. of course this is being seen in the wider context of the push on raqqah itself which is only about 30 miles to the east. the kurdish forces are saying that that operation will begin later this summer. this all comes ahead of course of president trump s inaugural foreign visit where he ll be going to israel and saudi arabia. of course the defeat of the islamic state is going to be very high up the agenda in both countries. it s something that he has campaigned on consistently. one of the issues that he ll have to confront is the announcement that they re going to arm america the kurdish forces in syria, which puts them on a collision path with their traditional ally in this area