Kurds, US-Led Coalition Continue Fighting IS In Syria - Kurdish Representative

Kurds, US-Led Coalition Continue Fighting IS in Syria - Kurdish Representative

The Syrian Kurds continue to fight the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) with the help of the US-led international coalition in Syria and are currently storming the city of Hajin, an official representative of the Syrian Kurds in Moscow, Rshad Bienaf, told Sputnik on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2019) The Syrian Kurds continue to fight the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) with the help of the US-led international coalition in Syria and are currently storming the city of Hajin, an official representative of the Syrian Kurds in Moscow, Rshad Bienaf, told Sputnik on Monday.

"The latest site where the fighting is in progress is the neighborhood of the city of Hajin in Deir ez-Zor province. The most professional IS fighters remain there, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the area. The movement forward through the territory is slow. The militants send women and children to fight," Bienaf said.

According to Bienaf, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish militia are fighting in the streets, while the international coalition assists them by conducting airstrikes.

Some parts of Hajin have already been liberated, and over 1,000 IS fighters are now being held captive by the SDF, according to Bienaf.

"The SDF are holding prisoner IS terrorists who came to Syria from nearly 40 countries around the world. Over a thousand militants, who fought in the IS ranks, are in our hands," Bienaf stated.

He added that the SDF had approached the countries in which IS militants held citizenships so that the relevant authorities could repatriate their own people and bring them to justice. Only several African countries have quietly let back individuals who had left to fight for the IS, while Russia has repatriated militants' wives and children.

The northeastern regions of Syria are currently controlled by the US-backed SDF. While the SDF is one of the parties engaged in conflict with the Syrian governmentDamascus considers its actions as illegal � it is determined to fight off the remaining strongholds of terrorism in the country, just as the central government is.