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Video: A Syrian Soldier’s Appeal on a Walk Through Aleppo

UPDATE 1845 GMT: Local sources confirm that rebels are fighting regime forces inside the town of Jisr al-Shughour, after a rapid advance on Thursday.

Reported areas of fighting include the sugar factory.

To the south, the Free Syrian Army claims it has taken a checkpoint and several buildings in the village of al-Sarmaniyeh in Sahel the al-Ghab Plain. The al-Mashyak checkpoint has been attacked with heavy machine guns, and there are clashes near. the village of al-Qahira.

The externally-based opposition Syrian National Coalition praised gains in the offensive, “We bow in respect in front of the rebels’ steadfastness and bravery as they continue to repel aggression by Assad and Iranian militia on the Syrian people, and we also reaffirms our unwavering support for them till all Syrian territory is liberated.”

A Coalition spokesman declared that the Free Syrian Army is the “only force capable of freeing Syria from the the tyranny and terror of the Assad regime and ISIS [Islamic State}”, calling on the international community to escalate support for the FSA.

A month after taking the provincial capital of Idlib in northwest Syria, rebels have announced an even more ambitious offensive in an effort to expand their control and threaten the Assad regime in the west.

The rebels said operations with more than 10,000 fighters had been launched in the al-Ghab Plain on southern Idlib and northern Hama Provinces. The Islamic Front, including Ahrar al-Sham, is among the leadership of the offensive. Groups such as Ansar al-Sham, Jund al-Sham, and Jabhat al-Nusra are also involved.

The declared objective of the offensive, according to an Islamic Front spokesman, was the key town of Jisr al-Shughour, on the highway between Aleppo city and Latakia in western Syria. However, other opposition sources indicated that the rebels have wider goals, including control of almost all of the Idlib-Hama corridor between the northwest and the Mediterranean coast.

If successful, the offensive would not only consolidate the rebel grip on Idlib Province; it would also threaten the regime in the areas of Aleppo and Hama Provinces that it holds, including the cities of Aleppo and Hama, and challenge the Assad stronghold of Latakia.

There are already reports of rebels taking checkpoints near Jisr al-Shughour and regime airstrikes to try to push back the attackers.

Map of regime (pink) and rebel (green) control — from “Agathocle deSyracuse“:

REBEL IDLIB-HAMA OFFENSIVE MAP

Filming from just outside Jisr al-Shoghour:

Smoke from fighting in the al-Ghab Plain:

Fighters moving into the valley near Jisr al-Shughour:

Claimed direct hit on Syrian forces with a TOW missile in the plain in Hama Province:

Meanwhile, in the month-long fighting south of Idlib city, rebels are claiming an advance on the regime’s Qarmeed camp, “The Brick Factory”, taking sites just to the east and four checkpoints.

State news agency SANA insists that it is regime forces who attacked, “killing dozens of terrorists and injuring others”.

Claimed footage of smoke rising from a vehicle-bomb attack on the camp:

Subsequent fighting in the area:

Rebel Squad Posts Claimed Video of Assassination of Islamic State Commander

Hayzoum, a group affiliated with the rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, has posted video claiming the assassination of an Islamic State commander.

Hayzoum said it killed Abu Dujana al-Maghrebi in the city of Shaddadi in Hasakah Province in eastern Syria. by “Hayzoum”, shadowy squad affiliated to Jaish al-Islam.

The video begins with a speech by Jaish al-Islam leader Zahran Alloush, followed by the image of Abu Dujana’s body with a note placed upon it.

Activists and citizen journalists have been reporting for months on shadowy groups targeting Islamic State fighters in eastern Syria. In late March, Hayzoum claimed it killed several militants at a checkpoint in Shaddadi.

Islamic State Cuts Off Rebel Supply Route from Jordan to Damascus Province

A citizen journalist and opposition sources say Islamic State fighters captured the village of al-Mahsa in eastern Qalamoun Mountains on Tuesday, cutting off a key desert supply line from Jordan to Damascus Province.

The journalist, Abu Mujahid a-Shami, claimed, “The battle resulted in nearly a hundred dead and missing among the rebel forces.”

A spokesman for one of the rebel brigades confirmed the capture of al-Mahsa by the Islamic State, which reportedly attacked in a 100-car convoy.

He said that other routes from Jordan are still operational, but that the setback “will make things more difficult”.

The spokesman accused the brigade Jaish Tahrir a-Sham of assisting the Islamic State’s entry into the mountainous region.

Jaish Tahrir a-Sham has previously denied rumors that its leader, Firas al-Baitar, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Kurds and Rebels Attacking Islamic State in Sarrin, Northeast of Aleppo

A coalition of the Kurdish militia YPG and units of the Free Syrian Army are attacking the Islamic State near the town of Sarrin in northeast Aleppo Province. The battle is currently for a series of grain silos in the area.

Claims are circulating that the Kurdish-FSA attacks are being indirectly assisted by US-led airstrikes, which are preventing the Islamic State from moving reinforcements to Sarrin.

The Islamic State took control of Sarrin, south of the Kurdish center of Kobane and north of the Islamic State’s center of Raqqa, in September 2013. The YPG-FSA coalition began attacks last month.

Success would both continue Kurdish success after the four-month defense of Kobane against the Islamic State early this year and relieve the pressure of Islamic State attacks on rebels in northeast Aleppo Province, as the opposition fights the regime eleswhere.