Earlier today, the predominately Kurdish militia operating in northern Syria – the “People’s Protection Units” (YPG) – attacked the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) at the village of Al-Jiza’eh in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, killing scores of fighters from the latter before the fighting subsided late this afternoon.
ISIS responded with a number of attacks in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, targeting the strategic “Abu Qusayb Hill” located near the Al-Qamishli District. The firefights at Abu Qusayb Hill are still ongoing, but the YPG has been able to forestall the ISIS advance.
Not far from Abu Qusayb Hill, Tal Ahmadi in southern Al-Hasakah was also the target of an ISIS attack; however, the ISIS assault was repelled within minutes by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) after they launched a number of artillery shells and sprayed the advancing ISIS fighters with a barrage of machine gun rounds. The Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) was also a big help, thanks to their relentless bombardment of the road leading to Tal Ahmadi.
At the YPG controlled village of Hitteen, ISIS militants carried out a fierce attack on the former’s positions, utilizing their heavy weaponry they confiscated from Iraq earlier this year. Sources confirmed that ISIS militants were seen operating armored Humvees during this fierce attack; this has become the norm in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, as ISIS has added to its inventory of vehicles since their inception in this war.
Syrian Arab Army sappers discovered a network of explosive devices that were planted by ISIS militants at Tal Ghazaal in the provincial capital. According to a military source, the explosives each weighed approximately 50 kg and they were spread around the village; they would later be dismantled by the SAA sappers, who counted up to 6 of these explosives in Tal Ghazaal.
ISIS militants also carried out a large attack on Tal Mabrouka near the besieged city of Ras Al-‘Ayn on the border of Turkey. Despite the size of the attack, the YPG fighters were able to withstand the assault and even forced ISIS militants to retreat west after sustaining high casualties. Firefights continue at Tal Mabrouka; it is an imperative area and the key to the city of Ras Al-‘Ayn.
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