Int'l anti-terror coalition strikes IS positions in Syria's Hasaka

The U.S.-led anti-terror coalition struck positions of the Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria's northern city of Hasaka, where intense battles have recently been taking place, a monitor group reported on Saturday.

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

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.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, added that battles also raged in the southern entrances of Hasaka between the Syrian army and the IS militants, who have been recently trying to storm that predominantly-Kurdish city.

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.

Over the past few days, the IS staged 18 suicide bombings in a bid to storm Hasaka, but the defenses of the Syrian military have so far kept them from entering this city.

Experts said the IS wants to storm Hasaka to revenge the losses it suffered by 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. Endit