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ISIS launches new attack on Hasakah
[ARA News] HASAKAH – Clashes broke out between Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah Governorate on Sunday. ISIS launched a fierce attack on the YPG headquarters in the town of Azzawi in southern Hasakah, using mortar shells and heavy machine guns. At least four Kurdish fighters were killed and seven more wounded under ISIS fire, military sources reported. “Our forces responded by bombing ISIS positions near Margada town in the southern countryside of Hasakah,” a YPG spokesman told ARA News. “This led to fierce clashes broke out and continued for at least three hours, and heavy weapons were used,” the official said. More than a dozen of ISIS militants were killed and scores more wounded in the clashes, that centred in the area between Margada and Azzawi. “The clashes stopped in the midnight on Sunday, and the terrorists were forced to withdraw towards their bases in Margada under heavy blows by the YPG units,” the source said. ISIS Fortifications Islamic State (ISIS) militants have started digging trenches in the vicinity of Margada, a town in northeastern Syria. On Thursday, local sources reported that fortifications were being erected to protect the town’s ISIS headquarters. Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recently expelled ISIS from major areas in Hasakah Governorate. The town of Margada is the last ISIS stronghold in Hasakah. It is located on the administrative border between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor. “Islamic State members have dug a trench around the northern part of Margada. The project is expected to proceed and cover the town’s suburbs from all sides,” local media activist Azzam Khallawi told ARA News. The group has also planted dozens of landmines in the vicinity of Margada in a bid to impede the SDF’s advance. “We are already aware of those tactics by this terrorist group,” an SDF spokesman told ARA News. “ISIS believes that such kind of fortifications could prevent our forces from retaking Margada but we reassure them that we’re prepared for any scenario.” ISIS launched a similar project in November 2015, fortifying its headquarters and digging trenches near al-Hawl. However, the project was ultimately unsuccessful as ISIS was driven from the border town by US-backed SDF fighters. Posted by: badanov 2016-10-03 |
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