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ISIS regained control over Al-Shadadi town southeast Hasakah province in less than 48 hours after SDF, backed by US airstrikes, took control of it.
ISIS launched a counter-offensive on SDF in Shaddadi from two axis; from Adla village in the east and from the village of Al-Hariri in the western part, using a range of heavy and medium weaponry such as: tanks, artillery and mortar with triple VBIED’s also hitting SDF militias gatherings on the outskirts of the town. In the counter-offensive ISIS used a variety of military tactics, including flanking and concentration of force.
The US-led coalition have conducted more than 200 air raids on the town of Al-Shaddadi and surrounding villages since the start of the US-backed SDF offensive, according to activists.
A number of sources indicated that ISIS managed to capture a group of SDF militants during an ambush inside the hospital in Al-Shaddadi, and then it transported them to its held areas in Deir Ezzor province. Fierce battles are still ongoing between both parties near Shaddadi and surrounding villages, with reports of heavy casualties on both sides. More than 150 militants from both parties have been killed in the ongoing clashes, including prominent ISIS and SDF commanders.
It is worth to note that Al-Shaddadi and villages surrounding it are witnessing a massive wave of displacement due to the ongoing fierce clashes and for fear of retaliation by SDF militias, who are close to the Assad-regime, against civilians in the region.
Activists have reported that 30 thousand civilians have been displaced from Shaddadi and surrounding villages, and headed towards Deir Ezzor countryside and Markda amid a deteriorating and catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region.