Syrian troops advance against IS militants in northern city

Syrian forces and allied fighters dislodged the Islamic State (IS) militants from areas they stormed in the northern city of Hasaka, the state news agency SANA reported Sunday.

Tens of IS militants were killed by the military operation in the southern countryside of the predominantly Kurdish city of Hasaka, said the report, adding that the government troops regained control of several areas the IS had recently stormed.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian TV said a wide-scale military offensive was carried out at dawn Sunday by the storming unit of the Syrian army covered by the artillery. It added that the troops recaptured the main electricity station and a juvenile penitentiary in that area.

The Syrian army is now expanding the security cordon in southern Hasaka after "defeating all of the terrorists," said the TV, which aired footage from the battles' site, showing bodies of the slain IS militants.

The TV noted that the military operation is moving toward the Martyrs Cemetery, located on the road connecting Hasaka with the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where the IS militants control a considerable swathes of terrain.

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi hailed the military achievement in Hasaka.

In a speech to the Syrian TV, the minister said the "will of the Syrian soldiers to fight is high contrary to what some news channels are attempting to portray."

The remarks of the minister came as response to the emerging reports which claimed that the Syrian army was getting weaker amid a series of setbacks and defeats it suffered in northern and southern Syria over the past few months.

Meanwhile, the TV aired a short interview with a military officer in charge in Hasaka.

"The Syrian army is here to protect you," the officer said, noting that people of Hasaka fought alongside the army.

According to the TV, hundreds of people took to the streets of Hasaka city, expressing support for the Syrian army and voicing relief for getting rid of the IS threat.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said intense battles took place Sunday morning between the IS and the Syrian army in southern Hasaka, adding that the government forces coerced the IS militants to retreat.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said as many as 71 government troops and 48 IS militants were killed since the IS unleashed its offensive against Hasaka on May 30.

It added that over 11 IS suicide bombers detonated themselves during the IS push in Hasaka.

A day earlier, the Observatory said the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition struck several IS positions south of Hasaka.

The coalition warplanes carried out multiple strikes against the IS positions in southwestern rim of Ras al-Ayn city in Hasaka, according to the Observatory.

The UK-based watchdog group said the airstrikes were coupled with clashes between the Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the IS militants inside Ras al-Ayn.

Meanwhile, Abdul-Karim Sorkhan, a Kurdish leader, said the Kurds fighters were standing on the fence regarding the battles being fought between the Syrian troops and the IS.

He reportedly said both the Syrian forces and IS are antagonist to the Kurds, adding that the Kurdish fighters are on standby to protect the densely Kurdish populated areas in the northern and western parts of the city.

Experts said the IS wants to storm Hasaka to revenge the losses it suffered at the hands of the Kurdish fighters in predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

The terror-designated group also wants to capture Hasaka to connect areas under its control in eastern Syria with its de facto capital of Raqqa province in northern Syria. Enditem