IS shells engineers at Syrian dam: witness

Engineers working to open spillways at the Tabqa Dam in Syria have been forced to flee after being shelled by Islamic State, a witness says.

Islamic State has shelled positions held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River, forcing engineers who were on site to open spillways to flee, a Reuters witness says.

Nobody was wounded by at least two explosions on Wednesday as militants fired from the southern end of the dam, which it controls.

The SDF, an alliance of militias including the Kurdish YPG and Arab fighters, captured the northern part of the dam last week.