PHOTO: Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Joulani on Al Jazeera Arabic

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In an hour-long interview, broadcast on Al Jazeera Arabic on Wednesday night, the leader of the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra has combined a promise of President Assad’s downfall with a series of assurances and warnings for Syria’s religious minorities.

In a lengthy opening to the interview, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani said that Alawites — the group to which Assad belongs — would not be targeted for retribution, provided they abandoned their beliefs, prevented their children from fighting, and abandoned their beliefs.

He added, “We aren’t at war with Christians. We’re at war with those fighting us. Under an Islamic rule, they become subject to it.” He said of the Druze minority, “We’ve been calling them for Islam but haven’t attacked them,” but added that there would be no tolerance of temples.

Al-Jolani, heavily cloaked and with only his nose showing, linked his statements about the Alawites to the declaration that President Assad would soon be defeated:

The battle does not end in Qardaha — the Alawite village and the birthplace of the Assad clan — but in Damascus….

We will continue our focus on Damascus and on toppling this regime. I assure you, Assad’s fall won’t take a long time.

He promised the demise of the Lebanese organization Hezbollah, which has been pursuing an offensive against Jabhat al-Nusra near Lebanon’s border: “The fate of Hezbollah is organically linked to the fate of Bashar Assad. Hezbollah knows that.”

Al-Joulani also had a reassurance for the US, “The instructions we received from [Al Qa’eda leader] Ayman a;-Zawahiri is to not attack the West from Syria and we are committed to this.”

He said that “there is no such thing as the Khorasan Group”, whom US officials have said is an element within Jabhat al-Nusra planning terrorist attacks on America and Europe — and which has been the stated reason for US airstrikes on al-Joulani’s fighters.

Citing the aerial attacks, al-Joulani asserted, “It goes without saying that the Americans and the Assad regime are coordinating inside Syria. It’s well-known inside [the country].”

Al Jazeera will broadcast another section of the interview with the Jabhat al-Nusra leader next week.


Video: Tour of Infamous Palmyra Prison

A week after taking Palmyra in central Syria, the Islamic State has posted video of the infamous military prison:

Palmyra, a former French military barracks, was used in the 1980s to house thousands of political prisoners and criminals. It was renowned for harsh conditions, abuses, torture, and summary executions. On June 27, 1980, an estimated 1,000 prisoners were killed in retribution for a failed assassination attempt on President Hafez al-Assad.

The prison was closed in 2001 but reopened in 2011 for political prisoners amid the uprising against Bashar al-Assad.


Rebels Quickly Capture Ariha in Idlib Province

The rebel coalition Jaish al-Fatah have taken Ariha, one of the last towns held by the regime in Idlib Province in northwest Syria, within hours of declaring an offensive.

See Syria Developing: Rebels Capture Ariha, One of Last Assad Positions in Idlib Province


3 Assad Soldiers Speak of Flight from Jisr al-Shughour Hospital — But No Word on How Many Made It

The Chinese outlet Xinhua, which often puts out Syrian State media’s messages, posts interviews with three Syrian soldiers who were able to flee from the besieged Jisr al-Shughour hospital last week.

Up to 200 Syrian troops — survivors from an estimated 450-500 in the building — tried to escape from a month-long siege of the National Hospital after the city, in Idlib Province near the Turkish border, was captured by rebels. Pro-Assad outlets claimed a victory, but rebels said they killed or captured most of those who fled.

Interviewed at a Latakia hospital, soldier “Ali” confirms the rebel claim that they forced out the troops with the prospect of a demolition of the building: “We decided to withdraw from the National Hospital when we realized that the militants were digging tunnels beneath the hospital to blow it up.”

He was shot in the hand but made it to regime lines outside Jisr al-Shughour, “It was like a new life has started.”

Significantly, however, Xinhua makes no reference beyond the three men to others who survived.

Despite the claims of a mass escape, Syrian State media has shown images of only about 15 troops, including a Colonel, from the Latakia hospital.

At least three Generals and a Colonel were confirmed to have been killed, and another General was captured.

Claimed image of a Baath Party official with one of the soldiers:

BAATH OFFICIAL JISR AL SHUGHOUR SURVIVORS


State TV Tries to Boost Morale as Rebels Threaten Offensive on Aleppo

With rebels threatening an offensive on regime-held areas of Aleppo city, State TV tries to boost morale with a report from the frontline along the ring road to the south:

Last weekend, rebels took the Sheikh Sa’id junction & bridge on the ring road and they briefly moved into the villages of Rashadiyah and Sheikh Mohamed, near Khanasir, to the east.

Rebels attacking regime positions in Rashidin, southwest of Aleppo (see map):

The opposition is hoping to cut the road, disrupting the Syrian military’s supplies and reinforcements to its sections of Aleppo city from as-Safira — located to the southeast — and from Hama Province.


Rebels Attack Perimeter of Regime’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase in Idlib Province

Rebels and the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra maintained pressure on the regime’s Abu al-Duhur airbase, one of its last positions in Idlib Province in northwest Syria, with an attack on Wednesday morning.

Fighters from the Jaish al-Fatah rebel coalition battled Syrian forces on the southern and western perimeters of the base, southeast of Idlib city.

Rebels have surrounded the base, including control of the village of Abu al-Duhur.


Pro-Assad Site Denies Regime Withdrawal from Deir ez-Zor Province in East

The pro-Assad site Al-Masdar News is denying claims of the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Deir ez-Zor Province in eastern Syria, following Islamic State advances and pressure on the Syrian military elsewhere in the country.

The site declares, from “a number of sources” in Deir ez-Zor, that the 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard and the 137th Artillery Brigade are not redeploying.

Al-Masdar counters that Syrian forces have secured Sakr Island, near Deir ez-Zor city, and taken an industrial area.

The claims of a Syrian withdrawal arose after the Islamic State took other areas in and near Deir ez-Zor city, and as the militants captured Palmyra and much of eastern Homs Province last week.