The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Kata’eb Al-Ba’ath – launched a counter-offensive in southeast Al-Hasakah in order to recapture lost territory and to cutoff the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham’s main supply route in the province.
The counter-offensive began on early Monday morning, when the SAA and NDF stormed a number of villages on the road to the ISIS stronghold of Al-Houl; this resulted in extremely violent clashes that aggregated into a high casualty count for all parties involved in these firefights.
After several firefights in the morning, the SAA, NDF, and Al-Ba’ath Battalions were able to capture eight villages in southeast Al-Hasakah, leaving ISIS at risk to have their supply route cutoff to Al-Shadadi; this would create a major dilemma for the ISIS fighters entrenched at Mosul (provincial capital of the Nineveh Governorate in Iraq) and in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.
According to a military source in Al-Hasakah, the SAA and their allies captured the following eight villages on Monday: Al-Salihiyah, Al-Hamir, Ward Al-Shaqra, Sakhar, Al-Sarrab, Al-Mujeebrah, Rajman, and Al-Tabah.
The source further added that the SAA and their allies suffered a confirmed 32 casualties during their offensive in southeast Al-Hasakah; meanwhile, ISIS casualties were estimated between 60-90 militants, including a number of foreign combatants that could not be identified by the SAA.
Cutoff supply route to Al-Houl and Al-Shadadi
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