Battle for Al-Hasakah Reaches Critical Stages
The battle for the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah has been a brutal battle for the Syrian Armed Forces, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), and the predominately Kurdish “People’s Defense Units” (YPG), as all three parties have suffered considerable losses while trying to impose their control over various parts of the city.
On Tuesday morning, a series of firefights between ISIS and the Syrian Armed Forces engulfed the southwestern sector of the provincial capital with a substantial volume of bloodshed; these clashes in the Al-Ghuweiran and the Al-Nishwa Districts were some of the bloodiest firefights that have taken place during this Syrian Conflict.
To clear-out the enemy combatants from the Al-Ghuweiran District, the Syrian Arab Army’s 123th Brigade – in coordination with their allies from the National Defense Forces (NDF), Kata’eb Aswad Al-Sharqiyah (Deir Ezzor tribesmen), Sootooro Brigades, and the 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard – had to rely on close quarters combat, as the proximity of the frontlines made it difficult for the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) to participate.
Following a six hour firefight in the northeastern sector of the Al-Ghuweiran District, the Syrian Armed Forces were finally able to secure the area after forcing the militants from ISIS to withdraw to the nearby Abu Bakr Hills at the eastern outskirts of the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, at the northwestern sector of the provincial capital, the YPG was able to completely secure the Al-‘Aziziyeh District after a brief firefight with ISIS militants on Tuesday morning.
At the Al-Nishwa District in southwestern Al-Hasakah City, the Syrian Armed Forces and ISIS clashed for the eighth day in a row, as the aforementioned terrorist group continued their persistent assault at the Al-Hasakah Villas area, despite sustaining heavy casualties over the course of four days.
According to a military source in Al-Hasakah, ISIS suffered over 60 casualties (unconfirmed) at the Al-Ghuweiran District and three dozen more casualties at the Al-Nishwa District.
