The ongoing fighting in Northern Syria exploded overnight as U.S. Special forces, alongside Kurdish Militia (YPG) and Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), fought an embroiled battle over the city of Tel al-Semin. The city has gone back and forth between SDF and ISIS control over the last few days, with the most recent transaction occurring when Coalition airstrikes caused ISIS to retreat after sustaining heavy losses to U.S. Special Forces operators and YPG/SDF forces.
A public relations spokesman for the YPG told American Military News that “Daesh [ISIS] took back the village but [after] the airstrikes, SDF/YPG and spec ops retook the village.”
One independent journalist that is embedded inside northern Syria said the massive coalition airstrikes almost immediately drove ISIS from their defensive positions and forced a quick retreat, with SDF and U.S Special Forces hot on their heels.
“ISIS sent 110 Hisbah policeman to fight in northern Raqqa. Tel al-Semin was liberated by the SDF and YPG a few days ago, and as Hisbah police reached northern Raqqa, ISIS sent them to Tel al-Semin along with many other fighters, where they started the fierce attack,” he told American Military News.
The Hisbah are the notorious and brutal religious police for ISIS, likened by many to the Nazi Gestapo.
U.S. Special forces have been operating inside Syria for some time now, while helping Turkish troops as well as the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF). They continue to act in an advisory role, teaching basic infantry skills and the necessary forward observation needed for coalition airstrikes.
[revad2]
