LATEST: State Media — 15 Killed by Insurgent Mortars & Rockets in Aleppo

Syria’s State news agency SANA has broken its silence on the fighting between Syrian forces and jihadists of the Islamic State, with the headline, “ISIS Terrorists Reeling in Southern Hasaka“.

Even more significant, the proclamation of victory may actually contain an admission of a major defeat for President Assad’s forces.

Having broken an effective non-aggression arrangement with the Assad regime, the Islamic State has been attacking the Division 17 base near Raqqa, the city in northern Syria held by the jihadists.

Reports on Thursday indicated that the Islamic State’s fighters were inside the base, and claims are circulating that they have captured the entire complex.

A video by an ISIS fighter claiming to be inside the base:

SANA’s report appears to confirm a retreat by Syrian forces, with the euphemism that they have been “redeployed”:

The army units defending Division 17 area in Raqqa were successfully redeployed in preparation for dealing with the armed terrorist groups in the vicinity of Raqqa.

Terrorists from the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suffered heavy losses as they were trying to attack a military unit in the south of Hasaka (Hasakeh Province in eastern Syria)….

As a result, (SANA’s) reporter added, the ISIS terrorists retreated more than 15 kilometers back towards the south of Hasaka city near al-Arisheh area,

The report also points to the presence of one of the Islamic State’s senior commanders, the Chechen Abu Umar al-Shishani, in the fighting: “Witnesses told the reporter that a Chechen terrorists nicknamed Abu Omar was leading hundreds of terrorists, most of them were non-Syrians.”

Islamic State supporters are claiming that the jihadists killed up to 75 Syrian troops in an ambush south of Raqqa.

State Media: 15 Killed by Insurgent Mortars & Rockets in Aleppo

State news agency SANA claims 15 people including six children and three women, have been killed by insurgent rockets and mortars on regime-held areas of Aleppo.

SANA said the areas of al-Hamadaniye, al-Ameriye, and Salaheddin were hit.