Syria

Christian Forces Fight Back Against ISIS in East Homs: Several Hilltops Captured Near Maheen

05/11/2015
1 minute read
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JONATHAN KROHN Brett (R), a 28-year-old US national who fights jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group alongside Dwekh Nawsha, a Christian militia whose name is an Assyrian-language phrase conveying self-sacrifice, shakes hands of a passer-by on February 5, 2015, in the northern Iraqi town of Al-Qosh, located 35 km north of Mosul. The foreign contingent fighting IS is tiny compared to the thousands of foreigners who have joined the jihadist group, but interest is growing and 20 more volunteers already lined up to join. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMEDSAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JONATHAN KROHN Brett (R), a 28-year-old US national who fights jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group alongside Dwekh Nawsha, a Christian militia whose name is an Assyrian-language phrase conveying self-sacrifice, shakes hands of a passer-by on February 5, 2015, in the northern Iraqi town of Al-Qosh, located 35 km north of Mosul. The foreign contingent fighting IS is tiny compared to the thousands of foreigners who have joined the jihadist group, but interest is growing and 20 more volunteers already lined up to join. AFP PHOTO / SAFIN HAMEDSAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images

The citizens inside the predominately Syriac Christian city of Sadad in east Homs have struck back against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) after fighting off the aforementioned terrorist group for the last three days.

On Wednesday morning, the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Sadad, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), and the Gozarto Protection Forces (GPF) launched a counter-offensive from the Maheen-Sadad checkpoint to reclaim several hilltops under the control of the terrorist group.

This counter-offensive began at Tal Sinni, when the NDF, SSNP, and GPF launched an assault on ISIS’ defensive positions at the southern perimeter of this hilltop, resulting in the death of several enemy combatants and the destruction of a mounted machine gun.

Following a series of intense firefights on Tal Sinni, ISIS was forced to withdraw from this hilltop towards the town of Maheen after their frontlines fell apart during the early afternoon.

However, the Syrian Armed Forces did not stop there: minutes after they captured Tal Sinni, the GPF stormed the hilltops of Tal Hazim and Al-Wastani, where they were able to overwhelm the terrorist forces and impose full control over the aforementioned sites.

These pro-government Christian forces are attempting to retake the town of Maheen and the ancient Syriac Christian city of Quraytayn, which are both currently under the control of ISIS.

The Russian Air Force has recently amped up the number of airstrikes they have conducted in the Palmyra Triangle in order to propel the Syrian Armed Forces combatting ISIS.

05/11/2015
1 minute read
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