Families flee Tal Hamees as YPG makes gains on IS in Hasakah

TAKING FLIGHT: Nearly 50 families fled the village of Tal Hamees, controlled by the Islamic State, southeast of Qamishli in Al-Hasakah province on Sunday amidst clashes between YPG units and Islamic State (IS) fighters, the pro-Kurdish ARA News reported.

A picture circulated on social media of residents fleeing with their belongings in a long line of vehicles with the caption reading, “dozens of families flee the Tal Hamees countryside towards the towns of Al-Howl and Al-Shadadi after YPG units attack the area.”

Civilian activist Ismail al-Ali told ARA News on Monday that the families “took shelter in a number of schools in the town of Al-Howl, including the Hussein Abeed elementary school and Hamdan Khadar primary school, both of which are under IS control.”

YPG forces captured 30 villages from IS in the Tal Hamees countryside on Sunday, reported the pro-opposition Qasin news outlet reported on Tuesday.

A Kurdish security official speaking with Anadolu on condition of anonymity on Monday claimed that 46 IS fighters were killed in the fighting on Sunday, reported the Egyptian news outlet al-Masreyoon.

IS fighters attacked the villages surrounding the town of Tal Tamar (40 kilometres west of al-Hasakah city) on Monday, kidnapping 90 Syriac Christians.

-February 24, 2015

-Photo courtesy of Abdulaziz Al-Khalifa

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