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19 March 2024

Daesh ousted from Hasakeh

Syrian Kurdish militia members of YPG make a V-sign next to poster of Abdullah Ocalan, jailed Kurdish rebel leader, and a Turkish army tank in the background in Esme village in Aleppo province, Syria. (AP)

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Syrian troops and Kurdish fighters ousted the Daesh (IS) group from Hasakeh on Tuesday, more than a month after they attacked the northeastern city, a monitoring group said.

On the political front, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura is due to brief the Security Council Wednesday, while UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien said he would visit Damascus in a bid to secure better humanitarian access to Syrians most in need.

Throughout its rise to power during 2013 and its announcement of a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria last summer, Daesh has presented itself as unstoppable.

The ultra-radical Sunni group has used terror and mass executions to help seize territory in Syria's north, including the group's de facto capital in Raqa, and the country's east, where it has captured most of resource-rich Deir Ezzor province.

But in recent months it has experienced a series of defeats at the hands of Kurdish fighters in northern and northeastern Syria.

Daesh’s only major victory was its May capture of the ancient town of Palmyra.

Now the Daesh assault on Hasakeh city, which began on June 25, has ended in defeat after 33 days.

"The Syrian army pushed Daesh out of Zuhur, the last neighbourhood where it was present in Hasakeh city, on Tuesday," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least 287 Daesh fighters were killed in Hasakeh, either in clashes with troops and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) or in US-led coalition airstrikes, the Observatory said.

Child soldiers

Daesh’s death toll also included at least 26 child soldiers, according to the Britain-based monitor, which uses a network of sources throughout war-torn Syria.

"Daesh is depending more on children for suicide operations. And we saw the effect of that, since 10 per cent of Daesh members killed in the fight for Hasakeh city were children," Abdel Rahman said.

According to the Observatory, 120 regime loyalists and dozens of YPG fighters were also killed.