US-backed forces take ground from Daesh in Hasaka

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian Democratic Forces on Thursday have seized a ground from Daesh as the US-backed group launch a major attack on last ISIS pockets in northeastern Hasaka province, local activists said.

The Kurdish-led forces took three villages and seven farms in the southeastern countryside of Hasaka, taking advantage form a heavy aerial bombing by the International Coalition.

Since Sunday, clashes have been underway between the SDF and Daesh near the towns of al-Dshaisha and Tel Shayer.

At least 20 civilians have been killed by the U.S.-led airstrikes al-Dshaisha and tel Shayer during the week, activists said.

The U.S.-led airstrikes have killed more than 2000 civilians and have displaced thousands more, according to the United Nations.

The SDF, which the Kurdish YPG militia spearheads, has been the main partner of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria, helping drive the jihadists out of swathes of northern and eastern Syria last year.

In its turn, Iraq launched an air strike on a Daesh target south of Hasaka city Thursday, AP reported.

F-16 fighter jets destroyed a building where members of the ultra-hardline Sunni group's leadership were operating, the Iraqi army said in a statement.

Daesh, which once occupied a third of Iraq's territory, has been largely defeated in the country but still poses a threat along its border with Syria.

"Iraqi F-16 jets bombed this morning on Thursday a so-called command and control center containing leaders and fighters belonging to the Daesh terrorist gang in the Hajin inside Syrian territory," the statement said.

The Iraqi air force has carried out several air strikes against Daesh in Syria since last year, with the approval of the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad and the U.S.-led coalition fighting Daesh.

Iraq has good relations with Iran and Russia, Assad's main backers in the Syrian civil war, while also enjoying strong support from the U.S.-led coalition.

Daesh has resorted to guerrilla tactics since it abandoned its goal of holding territory and creating a self-sufficient caliphate that straddles Iraq and Syria.

Zaman Al Wasl