MESOP HASKAH IN GREAT DANGER ! : Despite airstrikes, Islamists report gains in Syria’s Hasakah

June 5, 2015 ARA News – Hasakah, Syria – Syrian fighter jets bombed Thursday areas held by the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS) in southern Hasakah, northeastern Syria, local sources reported. This comes after the group took over a power plant near the southern entrance of the city.“By taking over the power plant, the IS seems in a position to control the daily life of people in Hasakah,” a media activist in Hasakah said on the condition of anonymity.

Locals from the northern neighborhoods told ARA News that large numbers of the Arab and Christian residents have fled the southern districts following IS advance there.In the meantime, the Syriac Military Council (SMC) announced in a statement that the Syriac forces along with the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) took positions in the regime-held security center of Mount Kawkab. “Subsequent to fierce clashes on Wednesday night in the southern areas of Hasakah, the Syriac and YPG forces took over Mount Kawkab in an attempt to prevent any possible IS-led attacks on the city,” SMC said.In a related development, activist Jassim al-Fahd told ARA News in the Geweran neighborhood of Hasakah that pro-regime forces evacuated their bases south of the city on Thursday.