YPG Command Spokesman Rêdur Xelil and YPJ Commander Nesrin Abdullah who provided information to reporters about the operation in Til Hemis going on for 6 days said that YPG/YPJ forces have surrounded Til Hemis from three fronts while only the Til Berak area in the western side remained under ISIS control.

Remarking that fierce clashes have been taking place in the region for the past six days, Rêdur Xelil said Arab civilians also participated in the operation actively.

Xelil said the town of Til Hemis was the largest ISIS headquarters in Cizîrê Canton, adding: "ISIS constituted a threat against the Cizîrê region. In addition, a side of Til Hemis neighbors Sinjar, because of which Sinjar also faced a threat. Gangs were also using Til Hemis as a front of their for Mosul. They have caused a great damage to the people living here."

Xelil added that the operation which was launched to eliminate this threat was also being supported by an artillery unit of the peshmerga forces from the South Kurdistan side of the border.

Over 100 Assyrians were massacred by ISIS gangs

Remarking that some 100 gang members were killed in Til Hemis since 21 February, and that corpses of many were being held by YPG forces, Rêdur Xelil said: “After suffering heavy blows in Til Hemis, the gangs headed for Til Temir and committed a massacre against the Assyrian people here, killing over 100 Assyrian civilians and abducting dozens of others.”

Xelil stated that YPG forces strongly responded to the attacks and formed a line of defense, expecting the gang groups to carry out attacks on other areas after suffering a heavy defeat in Til Hemis. “This attack is a heavy blow on Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian peoples. An Assyrian woman resisted to the gangs and killed four of them when they attacked the village of Hirmiz in Til Temir. This woman was later captured and beheaded by the gangs. Clashes are continuing in Til Temir,” he added.

Vowing to liberate Til Hemis just like how it happened in Kobanê, Xelil said more than a hundred villages have been cleansed of gang groups so far.

YPJ Commander Nesrin Abdullah also called attention to the importance of the Til Hemis operation which she said was a military, political and moral move they have developed in order to eliminate a threat against the values of the peoples in the region. She said the operation has revealed a spirit of national unity, fraternity and resistance.

Australian YPG fighter martyred

Nesrin stated that YPG fighter Ashley Kent Johnston has lost his life fighting in Til Hemis, adding; "As YPG/YPJ, we take Johnston as a martyr of the Kurdish people and humanity. We offer condolence to his family and the Australian people over the death of Johnston who joined the fight from Australia and bravely fought against the gangs in Rojava. He is a great value for us."