LATEST
- Jaish al-Islam Claims Assassination of Islamic State Emir in Eastern Syria, Promises More
- Video: Protests Continue Against Jabhat al-Nusra in Southern Suburbs of Damascus
- Videos: Children Escorted to Shelters During Regime Barrel-Bombing of Deir al-Asafir in Damascus Suburbs
- Kurdish Militia Skirmishes with Regime Forces in Aleppo
- Picture: Kurds Replace Assad’s Father With “Liberty” in Amuda in northeastern Syria
Continuing to reverse the tide of battle north of Aleppo, Syria’s rebels made notable gains on Tuesday.
Opposition fighters have taken Handarat village, long held by the regime, near a key route to insurgent-held east Aleppo.
Video statements from the Levant Front confirmed the takeover of the town.
Rebels already held the Handarat camp and advanced up Handarat hill last week.
The opposition also appears to have moved into Mazari’ Duwayr al-Zaytun, to the north of Handarat, and used heavy artillery to shell a regime missile base. Rebels may now move farther north to take another village, Sayfat, from Syrian forces.
The advance means that Bashqwy — the only village taken by regime forces in a failed offensive last month — is now cut off.
Claimed footage of rebels in Handarat (Warning — Graphic images of slain Syrian troops):
For months, the regime had held the upper hand in the area, threatening to isolate rebels in eastern Aleppo. In last month’s offensive, however, Syrian forces — alongside Hezbollah, Iranian, and Afghan fighters — lost hundreds of men through killing, injury, or capture. The defeat was especially heavy at al-Mallah Farms, to the west of Handarat.
The reversal of fortunes, combined with operations such as the underground bombing of the Air Force Intelligence building in northwest Aleppo last week and Monday’s detonations near the Citadel, raises the prospect of pressure upon President Assad’s forces in Syria’s largest city, divided since July 2012.
Jaish al-Islam Claims Assassination of Islamic State Emir in Eastern Syria, Promises More
A unit loyal to the rebel faction Jaish al-Islam has claimed the assassination of an Islamic State emir in Hasakah in eastern Syria.
Sariya Haezom said it killed Abu Aisha a-Tunisi, as Jaish al-Islam said the attack was a revenge operation for the Islamic State’s beheading of a JAI soldier over the weekend.
“There are more operations on the way, if God wills it,” said Mohammed Aloush, head of Jaish al-Islam’s political office.
Video: Protests Continue Against Jabhat al-Nusra in Southern Suburbs of Damascus
Footage of another protest by local people against the presence and activity of Jabhat al-Nusra in the southern suburbs of Damascus:
Resentment has been growing over Jabhat al-Nusra’s activities in the suburbs of Beit Sahem, Yalda, and Babbila, all of which reached local ceasefire agreements with the regime in early 2014.
A Friday Prayer protest of a reported 1,500 people last week ended in the injuring of six demonstrators by Jabhat al-Nusra members. Over the weekend, Jabhat al-Nusra clashed with a local rebel group until the larger faction Jaish al-Islam brokered a halt to the fighting.
Videos: Children Escorted to Shelters During Regime Barrel-Bombing of Deir al-Asafir in Damascus Suburbs
Children are taken to shelters during regime barrel-bombing of Deir al-Asafir, 12 km (7 miles) southeast of Damascus, on Tuesday:
Kurdish Militia Skirmishes with Regime Forces in Aleppo
Fighters of the Kurdish faction Jabha Al-Akrad clashing with Syrian soldiers in the Bostan al-Pasha section of Aleppo:
Picture: Kurds Replace Assad’s Father With “Liberty” in Amuda in northeastern Syria
Syria’s Kurds replace the statue of President Assad’s father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, with one of “Liberty” in Amuda in northeastern Syria on the Turkish border.
Amuda has been controlled since July 2012 by Kurdish forces.
