Regime helicopters meanwhile dropped barrel bombs on jihadist positions, he said.
If ISIS seizes Hasakeh it would be the second Syrian provincial capital to fall under its control, after Raqqa, the group's bastion in northern Syria.
Iran has deployed thousands of Iranian and Iraqi fighters in Syria in recent weeks to help the regime defend Damascus and its surroundings, a security source told AFP on Wednesday.
"Around 7,000 Iranian and Iraqi fighters have arrived in Syria over the past few weeks and their first priority is the defense of the capital. The larger contingent is Iraqi," the source said on condition of anonymity. (READ MORE)
