1st LD: Syrian army, Kurdish fighters dislodge IS out of Hasakah province

The Syrian army and Kurdish fighters have completely dislodged the Islamic State (IS) militants from the northeastern province of Hasakah after 33 days of battles, a monitor group reported Tuesday.

The government forces and Kurdish fighters finally recaptured all of the districts that the IS stormed a month ago in the southern part of Hasakah, amid skirmishes in the southern countryside of the province between Syrian forces and the last remaining pockets of the IS there.

On June 25, the IS unleashed a wide-scale offensive, storming the southern part of Hasakah. Since then, intense battles have raged there between the Syrian army and the Kurdish fighters on one hand and the IS on the other.

At least 20 IS militants have been killed over the past 24 hours in Hasakah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, placing the overall death toll among the IS militants at 287 since June 25.

During the month-long battles, over 21 IS militants have carried out suicide bombings in their bid to progress in Hasakah, said the Observatory, adding that 26 children with the IS known as the Caliphate Cubs were also killed.

As many as 120 government forces and allied militants were also killed during the battles in Hasakah, according to the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground.

Experts said the IS wanted to storm Hasakah to revenge the losses to the Kurdish fighters in predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

The terror group also wanted to capture that province to connect areas under its control in eastern Syria with its de facto capital of Raqqa province in northern Syria. Endit