LATEST: Syrian Military Claims Control of Sheikh Najjar Industrial Area Near Aleppo

FRIDAY FEATURE

Britain’s Plan to Arm 100,000 Insurgents in 2012

The Islamic State made further gains in eastern Syria on Thursday, as some insurgents laid down their arms amid frustration over shortages of weapons and supplies.

The Islamic State reportedly moved into the towns of Mayadin and Ishara along the Euphrates River as insurgents withdrew.

Just before the Iraqi-led group occupied the area, tribal elders in Ishara announced in a video statement, “The clans of the city of Ishara, and the villages around it…and all of the factions in these areas…announce before God that they will cease fighting with the Islamic State.”

Islamic State fighters also posted video showing their control of the Omar oilfield, one of Syria’s largest. A commander declared, ” We took it over without any fighting. They fled like rats.”

The Islamic State now holds much of the territory along the Euphrates, linked up to its advance across the border in Iraq, as it puts pressure on Deir Ez Zor, the largest city in the region.

At least nine insurgent factions in Deir Ez Zor and Hasakeh Provinces warned on Wednesday that they would stop fighting the Islamic State unless the opposition leadership provided more arms and supplies.

There has been no public response from the Syrian National Coalition and Supreme Military Council.

Syrian Military Claims Control of Sheikh Najjar Industrial Area Near Aleppo

The Syrian military is claiming control of the Sheikh Najjar industrial area east of Aleppo city, after months of attacks.

The advance would not only give the regime factories, it would be part of the cut-off of insurgents in eastern Aleppo.

A State TV broadcast with a correspondent in Sheikh Najjar:

Head of Opposition Coalition Repeats Call for Arms Against “Iran-Backed” Islamic State

The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, has renewed his call for arms to face the threat of the Islamic State, claiming it is backed by Iran.

Jarba told Lebanon’s Daily Star that the Coalition’s stance on the Islamic State has been “clear since day one: this is a tool being used by the Iranians and the Syrian regime, and it does not hesitate to murder, slaughter, and terrorize.”

Condemning the Lebanese organization Hezbollah — allied with the Assad regime — for “killing our women, children, and elderly, and…committ(ing) massacres”, Jarba said, “The Islamic State’s logic is no different from Hezbollah’s. Both groups are security tools that carry out Iran’s orders to fragment the region and send rigged cars and suicide bombers, aimed at inflicting harm on all of Lebanon, and we condemn this barbarism.”