The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) has been on the offensive for three weeks in the provincial capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate and during this time frame, they have sustained a significant number of casualties in order to progress a few meters at a time.
Without any regard for their casualties, ISIS field commanders send wave after wave of combatants into the line of fire; this usually results in a high casualty count for the terrorist group and limited success (e.g. Deir Ezzor).
However, there seems to be a method to this madness, as ISIS has advanced deep into the heart of the provincial capital, forcing the Syrian Arab Army’s Central Command to reinforce this front and abandon possible offensives elsewhere.
On Monday morning, the terrorist group obstinately stuck to their previous contingency and charged the east district of the Al-Ghuweiran Quarter, where they ran into the well-prepared 104th Airborne Brigade of the Syrian Arab Army’s Republican Guard.
Once again, the terrorist group disregarded their high casualty count and repeatedly sent fighters to storm the 104th Brigade’s frontline defenses, only for them to achieve the same results as their previous infiltration attempts.
According to a military source in Al-Hasakah, the terrorist group suffered an estimated 35 casualties during their relentless assault on the east district of the Al-Ghuweiran Quarter; to contrast, 104th Brigade only reported 4 soldiers killed-in-action (KIA) and 9 others wounded.
South of Al-Hasakah City, the militants of ISIS found themselves under the constant bombardment at the Al-Ahdath Juvenile Detention building, as the Syrian Arab Air Force’s (SAAF) aerial assault and the National Defense Forces (NDF) persistent mortar shells from the Al-Hasakah Electrical Substation pounded the terrorist group’s positions around the facility’s parameters.
At the Sports City near the Al-Ghuweiran Quarter, ISIS attempted to break-through the Syrian Armed Forces’ frontline defenses; however, they were repelled after a brief two hour firefight.
The Syrian Arab Army’s 154th Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with the Gozarto Protection Forces (Assyrian militia), the NDF, and the Al-Ba’ath Battalion – continued their assault on the west district of the Al-Nishwa Quarter, where they exchanged multiple mortar shells and gunfire during a six hour firefight.