Raqqa Eastern Front SDF Commander Azad Reqa spoke about the July 14 attacks by ISIS.

Reqa spoke to ANHA and said: “After we surrounded Raqqa and liberated several neighborhoods, ISIS spread gang groups from the northern line in Raqqa to the southern line in the morning hours of July 14 and carried out serious attacks. They used both bomb laden vehicles and suicide attacks. There were intense clashes from the north to the south of Raqqa that day. In some places, the clashes continued into the noon hours, and some went well into the evening. On the first day, the gangs received a heavy blow and the gang members’ bodies were confiscated by the fighters.”

“THEIR MORALE WAS DOWN, THEY WERE CONFLICTED”

Reqa said ISIS gangs attacked from several fronts on July 15 to retrieve the bodies of gang members but they failed when the fighters retaliated.

The SDF Commander said: “ISIS gangs’ morale was down and conflicts arose among them. ISIS had been planning for this for a long time, and they wanted to take back the newly liberated neighborhoods to give their members morale. On the day of the attack, we were listening in on the gangs’ radio and we learned that they were going to attempt to save some gang leaders.”

THE OUTCOME

Reqa said the following on the outcome of the extensive clashes on July 14: “In the July 14 attack, our fighters retaliated the ISIS attacks heroically and 341 gang members were killed in the clashes. Our fighters retrieved 64 of the bodies. 11 bomb laden vehicles were intercepted before they reached the fighters and 7 suicide bombers were killed before they could detonate. Our forces also confiscated 3 DHSK guns (23.5, 14.5 and 12.5 calibers).”

Commander Azad Reqa concluded his account with: “The fighters were advancing with great morale, and the Mihdî and El Rafqa neighborhoods were liberated in these four days.”