PHOTO: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

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Regime Airstrikes Kill 40+ In Retaliation for Pilot’s Execution

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have discussed possible cooperation in Syria’s conflict, days after President Obama authorized consideration of coordinated aerial operations with Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Kerry spoke by phone on Saturday about “the fight against terrorist groups”.

On Monday, the Obama Administration sent a proposal for cooperation over airstrikes, including on the Islamic State and the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra, if Moscow gets the Assad regime to stop bombing US-supported rebel factions. The President personally approved the plan and Kerry supported it, despite the objections of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

See Syria Daily, July 1: Obama Proposes Military Cooperation with Russia

Russia’s propaganda line for months has been that the US has undermined any chance for a political resolution by refusing to share coordinates for bombing and by not ensuring the “separation” of rebels from Nusra. The jihadists were excluded from a now-dormant February 27 cessation of hostilities agreement, brokered by the US and Russia.

The US proposal ruled out the alternative of stepped-up American military pressure on Syria’s President Assad to reach a political settlement.

More than 50 State Department staff had proposed in a “dissent channel cable” that the US carry out targeted airstrikes and provide weapons to some rebel factions. Kerry hailed the plan as a “very good” one and met some of the officials, although he declined to give public endorsement.

Pro-Assad Forces Launch Another Attack North of Aleppo

Pro-Assad forces, rebuffed for months in their attempts to close off the main route north of Aleppo city, have launched another attack.

The Syrian military and militia moved on the Handarat area, near the road into opposition-held areas of Aleppo, on Saturday.

Pro-rebel sources say that the offensive has been repelled so far:

Last week the pro-Assad forces, covered by Russian airstrikes, tried to occupy the al-Mallah Farms to the west of Handarat. The attackers briefly held northern sections before they were repelled.

Pro-regime accounts say the Syrian military, including the elite “Tiger Forces”, renewed the assault on Friday. They assert that northern and eastern areas of al-Mallah have been taken.

However, there is no verification for the claims and pro-rebel sources say the clashes ended on Saturday with the repulsion of the attack.

White Helmets Rescuer Dies of Injuries from Bombing

Fares Mohammed Ali, a White Helmets volunteer, has died of wounds suffered almost three weeks ago in a regime-Russian bombing of Aleppo Province.

Ali had been in a coma since the attack.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights issued a report on Sunday that 81 medics and civil defense personnel have been killed in the first half of 2016, including 11 in June.

Ali rescuing a little girl last month:

Islamic State Advances v. Regime Near Palmyra

The Islamic State is continuing its advance against the Syrian military in eastern Homs Province, near the historic city of Palmyra which it lost in late March.

A pro-regime site acknowledged on Saturday that ISIS has seized a checkpoint east of Palmyra after fighting with the 60th Brigade of the Syrian Army’s 11th Tank Division.

Al-Masdar News continues, “The Islamic State is now within striking distance of the Talilah Crossroad, leaving the Syrian Armed Forces with their backs against the wall in east Palmyra.”

President Assad declared the capture of Palmyra by his forces and foreign allies to be a turning point in the conflict with the Islamic State. However, the Islamic State has counter-attacked in eastern Homs Province, including the occupation of oil and gas fields.

Meanwhile, the Syrian military and militia failed in an offensive this month to move into Raqq Province, largely controlled by the Islamic State.

Jabhat al-Nusra Accuses Rebel Faction of Helping US with Assassinations

The jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra have arrested a leader and 40 members of the rebel faction Jaish al-Tahrir, accusing it of helping the US target Nusra fighters for assassination.

In a written statement, Nusra claimed Jaish al-Tahrir commander Muhammad al-Ghabi sent a “medical team” for training in Saudi Arabia, which was then approached by US operatives.

Nusra said it was tipped off to the plot by Jaish al-Tahrir members and that three of the group’s brigades requested al-Ghabi’s arrest. It is now evaluating documents from the raids in areas such as Kafranbel in Idlib Province.

Jaish al-Tahrir has called on other rebel groups, including the leading factions in the Jaish al-Fatah bloc, to intervene so the issue can be resolved by a sharia court.

Jaish al-Tahrir has tense relations with many rebel factions. It is linked to the old Syrian Revolutionaries Front, defeated in northwest Syria in late 2014 by Nusra, whose leader Jamal Maarouf was accused of theft and war profiteering.

After reforming, Jaish al-Tahrir allied with the Kurdish militia YPG, which seized rebel territory in northern Aleppo Province early this year.

Surrounded ISIS Counter-Attacks Kurds-Led Force Near Manbij

The Islamic State has counter-attacked the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who have surrounded ISIS’s main position in Aleppo Province in northern Syria.

The Islamic State reportedly took the village of Khattaf, east of the city of Manbij.

The SDF, supported by US airstrikes and special forces, began the offensive against Manbij last month. They have cut off all routes, leaving a corridor to the west if civilians are able to flee.

The force has taken positions around the city, including grain silos, but has not yet moved into the center.