LATEST: Insurgents Pushing Back Regime Offensive North of Aleppo

THURSDAY FEATURE

Analysis: How Regime’s Hackers Exposed Assad’s Fear — Not Enough Men for the War

At least 35 people were killed on Wednesday in a crowded Homs district, as the regime continued a months-long campaign of bombardment to force out insurgents.

Al-Wa’er is the last opposition-held section of Homs, after insurgents evacuated other areas in the spring. It has an estimated 90,000 residents, including many people displaced from other parts of Syria.

The Local Coordination Committees reported 13 airstrikes on Wednesday, including six barrel bombs and surface-to-surface missiles. Mortars and heavy artillery were also used. Sniper fire reportedly targeted ambulances trying to retrieve the dead and rescue the wounded.

The 35 deaths on Wednesday followed 16 airstrikes on Tuesday which killed at least 19 people, including an entire family. A local media activist said it was an escalation “that we have never seen before”.

In addition to the continued effort to force out insurgents, the latest attacks “may be in retaliation for the fall” of two regime bases in northwest Syria on Monday, according to the activist. The Syrian military has also stepped up the airstrikes following the recent failure of negotiations for a local ceasefire.


Insurgents Pushing Back Regime Offensive North of Aleppo

Insurgents are continuing to resist a regime offensive to close off a major supply route to opposition fighters in Aleppo city.

The Syrian military has been trying to occupy the Handarat area north of Aleppo, cutting the highway into the city. Earlier this week, they claimed success with the capture of al-Malah farms near Handarat.

However, insurgents have not only resisted but recaptured farms and buildings.

Opposition media claim that at least 20 regime troops were killed Thursday as the insurgency reclaimed six buildings.

Footage of insurgents in the area:

Islamic State Kill Relative of Former Head of Free Syrian Army

The Islamic State has reportedly executed an insurgent commander who was related to General Salim Idriss, the former head of the Free Syrian Army.

First Lieutenant Oraba Idriss was an officer in the al-Maghawir Brigade in the Qalamoun region. The Islamic State captured and killed him after he refused to pledge allegiance to the jihadists.

2 Kurdish Journalists Reportedly Kidnapped by Islamic State

Kurdish journalists Farhad Hamo and Massoud Aqeel have reportedly been abducted by the Islamic State on Monday near Qamishlo in northeast Syria.

Hamo and Aqeel, freelancers working for Rudaw TV, were seized on a main highway between Qamishlo and Tel Kocher.

Rudaw said the Islamic State carried out the abductions, but the jihadists have not claimed responsibility.

Video: Israel’s Military Medics Help Injured Syrian Insurgents

Footage from Vice News of medical staff of the Israel Defense Forces treating wounded Syrian insurgents:

The Israeli army said that more than 1,400 wounded Syrians have received medical treatment in hospitals in northern Israel and a temporary military hospital near the Syrian border.

The Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said on Wednesday, “The medical treatment provided for the wounded terrorists from the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front at hospitals of the Zionist regime of Israel clearly shows Israel’s link with terrorism and the violation of UN Security Council resolutions.”

Report: Regime Frees 60 Prisoners in Hama After Insurgents Threaten “Electricity War”

The Syrian regime has reportedly released 60 prisoners, including women and children, in Hama after an insurgent factions threatened to cut water and electricity supplies to pro-regime areas in Hama Province.

On Monday, the Omar Brigade on Monday threatened it would destroy water and electricity plants if all female detainees, especially in Hama’s Deir Shmayyel Prison, were not released within three days.

Abu Farouq, a commander in the Omar Brigade, repeated the threat to Al Jazeera:

Pro-regime villages will be our target if all female prisoners in Assad’s jails are not released.

The brigade is capable of hitting any target. The past few days have witnessed electricity blackouts in dozens of pro-regime villages in Hama Province.

Rebels are willing to destroy all power plants if the regime does not give in to their demands. The honor [of] women is dearer than that of all nations.

Pro-opposition Eldorar News said the brigade’s fighters destroyed transformers serving more than 15 Alawite villages in western Hama Province.