(Zaman Al Wasl)- ISIS is preparing for a major offensive against Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S-backed alliance of Kurds and Arabs, in al-Shadadi town south of Hasakah province, Syria's Local Coordination Committees revealed.
LCC said it was informed that a meeting took place in Raqqa, the de facto Islamic State's capital, on Feb.6 that included Abu Dujana al-Iraqi, the top aide of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and senior ISIS leaders
The secret meeting had discussed the the supply routes and reinforcement that should be delivered from Mosul to Raqqa and the planned swap deals with Kurdish militias.
The kidnapped Yazidis girls and families were also on the ISIS schedule, according to LCC.
ISIS' power has declined, experts said due to thousands of the U.S.-led air strikes that started 20 moths ago and the Western-backed Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq.
Al-Shadadi town has endured to brutal air strikes by the international alliance and Russia that killed hundreds of civilians who live under ISIS' yoke.
On Monday, Islamic State took four villages from SDF in the western countryside of Hasakah province, sources told Zaman al-Wasl.
ISIS fighters who engaged in fierce fighting with Syrian Democratic Forces in Jabal Abdul Aziz region have captured villages of Safian, Abu Fakhaith, Meshrafa and al-Badie south of Ras al-Ayn town.
The SDF was formed in mid-October as an alliance between the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and rebel groups including Arab and Assyrian militias to fight Islamic State. But few weeks later SDF had turned the fighting to moderate rebels groups amid reports of unspoken coordination with Syrian regime forces and Russia.
On Sunday, activists told Zaman al-Wasl that SDF had arrested about 150 tribesmen in Raqqa province as they refused to join the U.S.-backed alliance.
Media activist said SDF fighters have waged a series of raids on the Arab villages of al-Soukariyeh, al-Tyba, Eastern Tel Abyad, al-Antar and al-Ali Bajabla. Most of the abducted tribesmen were members of Jaysh al-Ashaer, or the Tribes Army, he added.
Amnesty International accused last October the Kurdish armed units in northern Syria of razing Arab and Turkmen villages, actions it says amounted to war crimes.
The alleged abuses took place in areas administered by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is affiliated with the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Researchers visited 14 towns and villages controlled by Kurdish forces in Hasakah and Raqqa provinces, where fighters had retaken territory previously held by the Islamic State.
In relevant development, the wife of Abu Sayyaf, a deceased Islamic State leader, was charged on Monday with conspiracy in the death of Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker who was killed a year ago while being held hostage in Syria by the militant group, the U.S. Justice Department said.
According to Reuters, Nisreen Assad Ibrahim Bahar, 25, an Iraqi citizen and wife of Abu Sayyaf, a senior Islamic State leader until his death last year, was charged for her role in a conspiracy that resulted in the death of Kayla Mueller in February 2015, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Since it began in 2011, Syria's war has fractured into a complex array of fronts between Kurds, rebels, regime and jihadists, and has killed more than 260,000 people.
LCC said it was informed that a meeting took place in Raqqa, the de facto Islamic State's capital, on Feb.6 that included Abu Dujana al-Iraqi, the top aide of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and senior ISIS leaders
The secret meeting had discussed the the supply routes and reinforcement that should be delivered from Mosul to Raqqa and the planned swap deals with Kurdish militias.
The kidnapped Yazidis girls and families were also on the ISIS schedule, according to LCC.
ISIS' power has declined, experts said due to thousands of the U.S.-led air strikes that started 20 moths ago and the Western-backed Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq.
Al-Shadadi town has endured to brutal air strikes by the international alliance and Russia that killed hundreds of civilians who live under ISIS' yoke.
On Monday, Islamic State took four villages from SDF in the western countryside of Hasakah province, sources told Zaman al-Wasl.
ISIS fighters who engaged in fierce fighting with Syrian Democratic Forces in Jabal Abdul Aziz region have captured villages of Safian, Abu Fakhaith, Meshrafa and al-Badie south of Ras al-Ayn town.
The SDF was formed in mid-October as an alliance between the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and rebel groups including Arab and Assyrian militias to fight Islamic State. But few weeks later SDF had turned the fighting to moderate rebels groups amid reports of unspoken coordination with Syrian regime forces and Russia.
On Sunday, activists told Zaman al-Wasl that SDF had arrested about 150 tribesmen in Raqqa province as they refused to join the U.S.-backed alliance.
Media activist said SDF fighters have waged a series of raids on the Arab villages of al-Soukariyeh, al-Tyba, Eastern Tel Abyad, al-Antar and al-Ali Bajabla. Most of the abducted tribesmen were members of Jaysh al-Ashaer, or the Tribes Army, he added.
Amnesty International accused last October the Kurdish armed units in northern Syria of razing Arab and Turkmen villages, actions it says amounted to war crimes.
The alleged abuses took place in areas administered by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is affiliated with the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Researchers visited 14 towns and villages controlled by Kurdish forces in Hasakah and Raqqa provinces, where fighters had retaken territory previously held by the Islamic State.
In relevant development, the wife of Abu Sayyaf, a deceased Islamic State leader, was charged on Monday with conspiracy in the death of Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker who was killed a year ago while being held hostage in Syria by the militant group, the U.S. Justice Department said.
According to Reuters, Nisreen Assad Ibrahim Bahar, 25, an Iraqi citizen and wife of Abu Sayyaf, a senior Islamic State leader until his death last year, was charged for her role in a conspiracy that resulted in the death of Kayla Mueller in February 2015, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Since it began in 2011, Syria's war has fractured into a complex array of fronts between Kurds, rebels, regime and jihadists, and has killed more than 260,000 people.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.