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ISIS Committed Its Second-Biggest Massacre Amid Ongoing Syria Assault

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Erica Wenig Contributor
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Islamic State massacred at least 146 civilians in Kobani and a nearby village Thursday, as jihadis continue a bloody assault in northern Syria.

Residents were executed in their homes and on city streets, marking Islamic State’s second-biggest civilian massacre in Syria, The Telegraph reported.

The terror group launched twin attacks on Thursday, in Kobani and the northeastern city of Hasakah. In the former, about 32 fighters penetrated Kurdish defenses and infiltrated the city. Fighting continued between jihadis and the Kurdish YPG militia into Friday, according to Reuters.

Kobani has been under Kurdish control since the city was freed from Islamic State in January, after months of U.S. airstrikes in a brutal fight for the Syria-Turkey border city.

Despite the coalition’s airstrike campaign against Islamic State, “there seems to be no ability to limit the movement of these guys,” said Evan Barrett, a political adviser to the Coalition for a Democratic Syria. Fighters are returning to places they’ve already been expelled from, he added.

Fighting in Hasakah also continued into Friday, the city jointly controlled by the YPG and government forces. Islamic State militants attacked regime-controlled areas of Hasakah. (RELATED: ISIS’ Latest Assault Shows This Jihadi Menace Is Far From Defeated)

The Syrian government appealed for mass mobilization to battle the Islamic State. “I call on every man, every young woman and every young man able to carry weapons to move immediately and join the frontline positions to defend the city,” said Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, as reported by Reuters.

Kurdish forces dealt Islamic State several blows in recent weeks. The YPG advanced within 30 miles of Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa and recaptured Tel Abyad from Islamic State, cutting off a major supply line for the terror group.

“I don’t even think they [Islamic State militants] are trying to take Hasakah. They are trying to instill fear in the citizens so the Kurds will call their troops back,” said Barrett.

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Tags : isis syria
Erica Wenig