In operation Cizire Storm, which was announced to resume with the aim to clear the territory under Islamic State rule southeast al-Hasakah province and to liberate Dashisha town in the first place, fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces have managed to break into the group’s stronghold and advance about four kilometers from the western axis.

The village of al-Fackah, located 15 kilometers south of al-Shaddady town, is the first significant gain of SDF with three other hamlets nearby liberated. Although IS has implemented various tactics to stop the advance of SDF in the region, it is observed that the fighters are advancing steadily. All the attacks and trap attempts by IS up to now have been foiled by fighters.

“Our main aim to completely oust ISIS presence in the area” said Kabar, SDF fighter from al-Shaddady stating that the operation would continue until the people of the region were completely freed from the tyranny and injustice of ISIS. The SDF commander leading the operation in the region stated that ISIS has been implementing all kinds of possible ways from planting mines to using civilians as human shields.

The operation had been interrupted by the attacks of Turkish invasion army and its mercenaries on Afrin. It was observed that ISIS, which took advantage of the attack by Turkey to reorganize and regroup during that process, intensified its activities in the areas south of Hasakah. The initial aim of the relaunched campaign is to end ISIS presence in the southern part of Hasakah.