Kurdish flag raised in Sinjar as ISIL pushed back on two fronts
Dealing a double blow to the Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant, Iraqi Kurdish forces pushed into the key town of Sinjar on Friday as a Syrian rebel coalition captured an ISIL-held border town in northern Syria.
In Iraq, the Kurdish forces raised a Kurdish flag in downtown Sinjar and a top official declared it liberated, though U.S. and Kurdish military officials urged caution in declaring victory in a major offensive to retake the strategic community.
The Kurdish forces encountered little resistance, at least initially, suggesting many ISIL fighters may have pulled back in anticipation of Friday’s advance. They could also be biding their time before striking back.
Kurdish militia fighters, known as peshmerga, launched the offensive to retake Sinjar on Thursday and succeeded in cutting a key nearby highway. U.S.-led coali- tion airstrikes supported the offensive, dubbed Operation Free Sinjar. The town has been under the control of ISIL for more than a year.
Meanwhile, across the border in Syria, a coalition of Arab, Christian and Kurdish rebel factions known as the Democratic Forces of Syria seized Hol in northern Hassakeh province. The U.S.backed offensive to retake ISIL-held areas in the south- ern parts of Hassakeh is coinciding with the push to retake Sinjar.
Redur Khalil, the spokesman for the main Kurdish fighting faction in Syria known as the YPG, announced the coalition took Hol.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the Democratic Forces of Syria had reached Hol. It said the Syrian fighters on the ground were backed by intense air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition that killed dozens of ISIL militants. Others fled, leaving their weapons and ammunition behind.
It was the biggest victory for the Syrian coalition, which was formed in mid-October. The push to liberate southern Hassakeh province from ISIL was announced shortly after that.
Earlier Friday, Nasser Haj Mansour, a senior Kurdish defence official, said coalition fighters had reached the outskirts of Hol. The militants were burning houses as they fled, while others were using the few civilians left in the area as human shields.
In Iraq, Sinjar has been under ISIL’s control for more than a year. The town was overrun by the extremists as they rampaged across Iraq in August 2014, leading to the killing, enslavement and flight of thousands of people from the minority Yazidi community.
“We promised, we have liberated Sinjar,” Massoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, told fighters in Sinjar. “It’s time for the Yazidi girls to raise their heads up. Revenge has been taken for them.”
“Sinjar is very important because it’s become a symbol of injustice against the Kurdish people,” he added.
Peshmerga Maj. Ghazi Ali, who oversees one of the units involved in the offensive, said thousands of Kurdish fighters entered the town from three directions Friday. AP journalists saw them raise a flag over a building in the centre of the city.
They encountered minimal resistance during Friday’s push, Ali said.
“No one was fighting back. They placed some IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and had some snipers in position, but there were no clashes,” he said
Gunfire fell silent as peshmerga fighters marched into the town. Ali described the situation still dangerous and warned that it was too soon to declare victory.
“I can’t say the operation is complete because there are still threats remaining inside Sinjar,” he said. The risks include ambushes from suicide bombers, roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses, he added.
Sinjar has become a symbol of injustice against the Kurdish people