Under fire, ISIS showers mortars on Syrian Kurdish town of Tal Tamir

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Islamic State (ISIS) militants showered mortars on Tal Tamir Thursday, as they tried to fight off an offensive on a village south of the predominantly Syrian-Kurdish town, a Rudaw correspondent reported from the scene.

Bahjat Shekho, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said that ISIS had also turned its heavy weapons on the villages of Tal Nasri, Tal Shamiran and Khebish.

He said that the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the PYD’s military wing, had been under shell fire in Tal Tamir.

"Since last night fierce fighting has been underway between the YPG and ISIS in the village of Tal Samir, south of Tal Tamir," Shekho added.

He said half of Tal Samir remained under ISIS control, adding that “due to a tough defense by ISIS we have been unable to advance more."

ISIS, which controls roughly a third of Iraq and as much of Syria, has launched a string of offensives in Iraq and Syria as it defends against a joint assault on the city of Tikrit by the Iraqi Army and Iranian-backed militiamen.  

The US military said this week that anti-ISIS forces, supported by coalition air power, took control of the strategic town of Tal Hamis in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), pushing the militants out of dozens of villages.

The Pentagon said that control of Tal Hamis denies ISIS the ability to move personnel and materials freely between Syria and Iraq, including “critical portions of Route 47 in Syria, a key ISIL communications and supply line leading into Iraq.”

The YPG launched a military operation two weeks ago to clear Tal Hamis in the canton of Cizire. The group said the mission was successfully accomplished earlier this week.