PHOTO: US special forces with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, May 2016
LATEST
- US Bombing Killed 10 American-Backed Rebels in “Friendly Fire” Incident
- Video: Rebels Operate T-90 Tank Captured from Pro-Assad Forces
- State Media: 8 Killed in Double Bombing in Damascus Province
- Video: Jaish al-Islam Rebels Feature Training of Medical Personnel
- Aleppo Rebels: We Will Attack Barracks and Checkpoints from Sunday
SATURDAY FEATURE
Analysis: Why Russia is Killing Civilians
Pressure increased on the Islamic State in northern Syria on Friday, as both pro-Assad forces and a pro-Kurdish offensive closed on key ISIS positions.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the US, established fire control over the last route into the Islamic State’s central position in Aleppo Province, the city of Manbij.
Last week’s offensive had already cut off Manbij from the north, east, and south. On Friday, a SDF spokesman confirmed that fighters were established within a kilometer of the road from the west.
Formed last autumn, the SDF has taken much of the ISIS’s territory in northeast Syria and has been advancing to the west. The operation against Manbij was confirmed this month after weeks of negotiations between the US and Turkey, which believes the Kurdish militia YPG — the largest faction in the SDF — is dominated by the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK.
Pro-Assad Forces Take Raqqa Junction
In Raqqa Province, the Syrian army and pro-Assad private militias reached the Sfaiyeh crossroad, about 20 km (12.5 miles) south of Taqba airbase.
The advance was led by Syrian marines and the private militia Desert Hawks Brigade, supported by the 555th Regiment of the 4th Mechanized Division. Pro-regime accounts said the troops also took the Safiyeh oil field and electrical station.
Pro-Assad troops are in Raqqa Province for the first time since the Islamic State overran the Taqba airbase in 2014.
Taqba airbase is about 50 km from Raqqa, the largest city in Syria held by the Islamic State.
Footage of the advancing Desert Hawks in Raqqa Province:
US Bombing Killed 10 American-Backed Rebels in “Friendly Fire” Incident
The Wall Street Journal reports that US warplanes bombed a rebel unit — trained and equipped by Washington — in northern Syria in late May.
The Mu’tasim Brigade, supported by the US to fighting the Islamic State in northern Aleppo Province, said it was hit by one of the US airstrikes near the town of Mare’ on May 27 and 28.
At the time, the US military said three attacks “struck two separate ISIL [Islamic State] tactical units and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles and an ISIL vehicle”.
Mustafa Sejry, the head of Mutasim’s political office, said 10 brigade fighters were killed by the US “friendly fire”.
Approached by the Journal, a spokesman for the US military’s Central Command said:
Initial reports were that four counter-ISIL personnel may have been killed in the strike,
An investigation into this incident has been initiated. We will continue our support to counter-ISIL forces and will apply any lessons learned derived from the investigation to improve our operations in the future.
Sejry said the US airstrike hit Mu’tasim when they were 400 meters from Islamic State fighters, who had seized territory and cut off Mare’ from the opposition-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border.
See Syria Daily, May 28: Islamic State Threatens Rebels & Refugees in Northern Aleppo
He said the Pentagon had the coordinates of both US-backed and Islamic State forces, and that members of the Mutasim Brigade were shocked and felt “betrayed”.
After the strike, a representative of the US. military told Sejry that American aircraft accidentally hit the brigade’s fighters: “They apologized and stated that it was by mistake. And we have no other choice than to say maybe it was mistake.”
Video: Rebels Operate T-90 Tank Captured from Pro-Assad Forces
Rebels show off the first Russian-made T-90 tanks captured from pro-Assad forces in the Syrian conflict:
The tank was seized during a failed attack by the pro-Assad forces on the Mallah Farms, north of Aleppo city, on Thursday.
Regime outlets had claimed the tank had been put out of operation before it was captured.
See Syria Feature: Rebels Keep Upper Hand Around Aleppo
State Media: 8 Killed in Double Bombing in Damascus Province
State news agency SANA says eight people have been killed and 13 wounded in a double bombing in Damascus Province.
A police source said a suicide bomber struck at the entrance to the town of as-Sayyeda Zainab, home of a Shia shrine. A car bomb then exploded nearby.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi claimed that the attacks were “cowardly terrorist acts” in response to “the accelerated victories of the Syrian army on all fronts”. He held “the terrorism sponsors, particularly Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, responsible”.
Video: Jaish al-Islam Rebels Feature Training of Medical Personnel
A video from the leading rebel faction Jaish al-Islam features the training of medical personnel:
A Jaish al-Islam official declare that medical units are among the best trained and equipped amongst rebels. The force includes members who were medical professionals before the conflict.
Amongst the Syrian rebellion, only Ahrar al-Sham, some units in the Southern Front, and the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra have similar medical staff.
Based near Damascus, Jaish al-Islam has been under pressure from regular bombing and a ground offensive by the Syrian military and Hezbollah. The challenge has been compounded by Jaish al-Islam’s battles with the factions Failaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Fustat, which is linked to Jabhat al-Nusra.
Last month, the regime-Hezbollah force took advantage of the in-fighting to seize much of the southern part of the East Ghouta area near Damascus.
Jaish al-Islam and Failaq al-Rahman agreed a ceasefire in late May. However, a local source, supportive of Jaish al-Islam, says tensions continue with Failaq al-Rahman refusing to give back stolen equipment and refusing to cooperate in a unified force.
Aleppo Rebels: We Will Attack Barracks and Checkpoints from Sunday
The rebel Aleppo Operations Room has said that it will target regime checkpoints and barracks from Sunday, continuing the attacks until the pro-Assad forces halt “massacres” of civilians in Aleppo Province.
The operations room told civilians to stay away from the regime positions “to preserve their lives”.
