Syrian regime forces battled Kurdish fighters in the eastern city of Hasakeh for the first time Saturday, leaving at least six people dead, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting broke out at around 2 am at several points in the city, control of which is split between the two sides. Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based group, said there had been heavy fighting since then. Four regime forces and a Kurdish fighter had been killed so far, as well as a woman in regime shelling of an area controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units.