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The Associated Press BEIRUT Backed by U.S.- led airstrikes and buoyed by battlefield successes, Kurdish fighters kept up an offensive through north- ern Syria on Tuesday, driv- ing Islamic State militants out of a town near the ex- tremists' de facto capital of Raqqa. The capture of Ein Issa came just hours after the Kurdish forces had over- run a nearby military base, increasing the pressure on the Islamic State group less than two weeks after it lost the strategically located town of Tal Abyad on the Turkish border, severing a vital supply line. TheadvancesbytheKurd- ish fighters in Syria as well as in northern Iraq has been credited largely to a high level of coordination be- tween the ground forces and the nearly year-old air cam- paign being led by Washing- ton against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL in English and by its Arabic ac- ronym, Daesh. White House Press Sec- retary Josh Earnest called the success by the Kurds "an indication of how criti- cally important it is for the United States to have a ca- pable, willing and effective partner fighting ISIL on the ground." That was why the U.S. was dedicating "signifi- cant resources" to build- ing up opposition forces, he said. That work was "a more difficult task" in Syria than Iraq, but that "this is a pretty good illustration of why that very difficult work is important," Ear- nest added. Ein Issa is only 50 kilo- meters (30 miles) north of Raqqa, the stronghold of the Islamic State's self-de- clared caliphate that spans parts of Syria and Iraq. The recent battlefield setbacks for IS were men- tioned in an audio message by the group's spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "God never gave the mu- jahedeen a promise of vic- tory every time," al-Adnani said in the message posted on social media, adding that the faithful "may lose a battle or battles and may lose towns and areas, but will never be defeated." He urged Sunni Muslims to use the time of piety and dawn-to-dusk fasting as an occasion to wage jihad and seek martyrdom. "Attack them everywhere and shake the ground be- neath them," he said in the morale-boosting message, his voice rising. "If you lose territory, you will win it back and more in the fu- ture, God willing." ISLAMIC STATE Kurdskeepupoffensive against militants in Syria THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Kurdish fighters of the YPG sit on their pickup in the town of Ein Eissa, north of Raqqa city, Syria, Tuesday. By Matthew Pennington The Associated Press WASHINGTON The United States voiced deep concern Tuesday over state-spon- sored cybertheft and ten- sion in the disputed seas of East Asia but did not let the sharp disagreements with China on pressing security issues cloud the outlook for cooperation between the world powers. At talks in Washington, China was intent on set- ting a positive tone ahead of a White House visit this fall by President Xi Jin- ping. The Chinese leader has sought deeper relations with the United States, as his nation's economic and military clout grows. The sprawling agenda of the two-day U.S.-China Se- curity and Economic Di- alogue that began here Tuesday reflects the grow- ing depth of the relation- ship despite the emerging rivalry between Washing- ton and Beijing. Few major outcomes were expected, al- though U.S. officials touted "remarkable" progress in climate change cooperation over the past year. Using well-worn exhorta- tions to China, Vice Presi- dent Joe Biden urged it to be a "responsible stake- holder" in the international system. In an opening state- ment, Biden acknowledged that there will be intense disagreements between the U.S. and China, but added: "This relationship is just too important. Not only do we depend on it, but the world depends on our mu- tual success." Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong said the two coun- tries can keep bilateral rela- tions on the right track so long as they "respect and accommodate each other's core interests." Another vice premier, Wang Yang, said neither China nor the U.S. can afford a lack of cooper- ation or "all-out confronta- tion." The U.S. and China are cooperating on a growing array of hot-button issues, like Iran's nuclear program, Afghanistan and global pandemics such as Ebola. But they remain at odds on human rights, religious freedom and Xi's crack- down on domestic dissent. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of the need to "reduce tensions rather than add to them" in the South and East China Seas, where China's assertive be- havior and land reclama- tion to advance its territo- rial claims has rattled its Asian neighbors, U.S. allies among them. China says the disputed areas are its sover- eign territory. U.S. officials said they voiced concern over the possible militari- zation of artificial islands China is building. In the cyber domain, Obama administration of- ficials have said they are increasingly confident that China's government was responsible for a massive breach of personnel records of as many as 14 million of federal employees and con- tractors. SHARP DISAGREEMENTS US chides China on security issues, but avoids clouding cooperation PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the 7th US China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and 6th Consultation on People-to-People at the U.S. State Department in Washington, on Tuesday. The Associated Press ISTANBUL At the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, diplo- mats talked about airing the grievances of disen- chanted local youth using Facebook and Twitter. At the embassy in Khartoum, they reported anxiously on Iran's military aid to Sudan. Meanwhile, the Saudi mission in Geneva got stuck dealing with a multi-mil- lion dollar limo bill racked up by a Saudi princess and her entourage. The incidents are men- tioned in diplomatic docu- ments published Friday by WikiLeaks, only the first batch of what the trans- parency group says will be a much larger release. But they've already provided an unusual level of insight into day-to-day Saudi diplomacy — giving a snapshot of the lavish spending habits of se- nior royals and the political intrigue percolating across the Middle East. WikiLeaks so far has published roughly 60,000 documents, of which The Associated Press only has been able to authenticate a handful. But the organi- zation has a long track re- cord of hosting large leaks of government material and in a statement released late Saturday the Saudi govern- ment acknowledged its dip- lomatic servers had been penetrated ahead of the mass disclosure. Many of the documents reviewed by the AP appear aimed at tracking Iranian activity across the region or undermining Tehran's in- terests. An undated memo apparently sent from the Saudi Embassy in Tehran made note of what it called the "frustration of the Ira- nian citizen and his strong desire for regime change" and suggested ways to pub- licly expose Iran's social grievances through "the Internet, social media like Facebook and Twitter." It also suggests "hosting oppo- sition figures overseas, coor- dinating with them and en- couraging them to use gal- leries to show pictures of torture carried by the Ira- nian regime against people." Saudis also kept a watch- ful eye on Iran's friends, real or perceived. One 2012 memo warned that Iran was getting "flirting Amer- ican messages" suggesting that the U.S. had no objec- tions to a peaceful Iranian nuclear program so long as it had guarantees, "possibly Russian ones." Another memo, dated to 2012, accuses the United Arab Emirates of helping Russia and Iran circumvent international sanctions. A third memo — marked "top secret" — alleges that Ira- nian fighter jets bombed South Sudanese forces dur- ing a 2012 standoff over the oil-rich area of Heglig. DOCUMENTS Wi ki Le ak s re ve al s Sa ud i in tr ig ue WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B