Christian woman returns to hometown after YPG clears out Islamic State

A Syriac Christian woman, likely a nun, returns to her home in the northwest Al-Hasakah town of Tel Tamer on Wednesday after Kurdish YPG forces cleared it of Islamic State fighters last week, in a picture given to Syria Direct by a correspondent with opposition network Orient News.

“I met with this lady and she invited me into her house. She gave me water and coffee and expressed to me her happiness about the area’s liberation,” correspondent Akram Saleh told Syria Direct on Thursday.

In the past two weeks, YPG forces have pushed IS out of several villages in northwest Al-Hasakah, where much of the minority Syriac Christian population lives.

Saleh noted that the woman, who goes by “Wardeh,” or rose in Arabic, agreed to have her picture published but requested not to be directly quoted.

“Civilians are gradually returning to the town after the YPG secured the area after frustrating an IS attack that began about three months ago,” said Saleh.

Returning residents still face danger, added Saleh, pointing out that “IS planted a large number of mines in the town and around it.”