Syria Bombs Kurdish Stronghold Of Hasaka

Syrian Government warplanes bombed Kurdish-held areas of the northeastern city of Hasakah for a second day, as the Syrian army accused Kurdish forces of igniting the conflict. The fighting this week in Hasaka, which is divided into zones of Kurdish and Syrian government control, marks the most violent confrontation between the Kurdish YPG militia and Damascus in more than five years of civil war. The YPG is at the heart of a U.S.-led campaign against I.S in Syria, and controls swathes of the north where Kurdish groups have set up their own government since the Syrian war began in 2011. The government air strikes on Hasaka mark the first time the Syrian military has deployed its warplanes against Kurdish groups during the war. In its first comment on the situation, the Syrian army accused a YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish of igniting the violence through escalating “provocations” While the YPG controls most of the northeast, the Syrian government has maintained footholds in the cities of Hasaka and Qamishli at the border with turkey. The YPG has controlled most of Hasaka city since last year.