American Vets fight alongside Iraqi Assyrian Christians in combat against ISIS in Teleskof, Iraq

On May 3, 2016 ISIS attacked the town of Teleskof, Iraq where Sons of Liberty International (SOLI) has been providing free training to the Iraqi Assyrian Christians to fight against ISIS.



Hundreds of ISIS fighters launched a surprise attack shortly after dawn, using pickup trucks and an armored Humvee, heavy weapons, and suicide bombers to overrun Teleskof.



Initially they were successful, forcing the defending Peshmerga, Iraqi Assyrian Christians, and SOLI out of Teleskof.



SOLI founder Matthew VanDyke and his team barely made it out of Teleskof alive, having awoken to the sound of explosions and gunfire just before 6 AM. They had very little time to grab their weapons, ammo, armor, and a camera with low battery power, and get in the truck as other forces were already withdrawing from the town.



The SOLI team was forced to withdraw under fire, taking with them a couple of the Iraqi Assyrian Christians they had been training. There was heavy gunfire as ISIS took control of the town, and a bullet hit the truck just inches from the head of one of the SOLI trainers as they withdrew. 



SOLI spent the next ten hours helping Peshmerga, Assyrian Christian forces, and a team of US Navy SEALs in the fight to retake the town from ISIS. Tragically, Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV was killed during the battle.



The SOLI team had very little battery power in their camera, but they still managed to capture some of the battle on video so that their supporters and the public can see some of the war beyond the headlines.