PHOTO: Aftermath of attacks on opposition-held Idlib city on Tuesday

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WEDNESDAY FEATURE

1st-Hand: A Survivor of “Human Slaughterhouse” of Regime’s Prisons

UPDATE 1945 GMT: Pro-opposition sites report that at least nine people have been killed by regime airstrikes and shellig of the al-Wa’er section in Homs.

Two women and a child are among the dead.

Pro-Assad airstrikes have killed dozens of people across Syria, despite a nominal ceasefire declared by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

At least 30 people died in attacks on Idlib city in northwest Syria, in some of the heaviest raids in months.

An estimated eight attacks, by what witnesses believed to be Russian jets, leveled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas.

Russia’s Defense Ministry insisted that the reports that its planes had bombed Idlib were not true.

“We are still pulling bodies from the rubble,” said Issam al Idlibi, a volunteer civil defense worker.

Warning — Graphic Images:

People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel-held city of Idlib

PHOTO: Ammar Abdullah/Reuters

Rescuing a victim:

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At least four people were killed in strikes on the town of Erbin in East Ghouta, northeast of Damascus. the capital. The Syrian army and pro-government militias have been seeking in recent days to gain new ground there.

Turkey’s Erdoğan and Trump Discuss Syria — Ankara Says US President is Supportive

“Turkish Presidential sources” declared that Donald Trump has pledged to support Ankara’s goals within Syria, in a 45-minute phone call on Tuesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyiip Erdoğan.

The sources assert that Trump and Erdoğan agreed to “act together” over the Turkish-rebel offensive on al-Bab, the Islamic State’s main position in Aleppo Province (see entry below). They also said that the US President pledged support for an eventual operation against the city of Raqqa, ISIS’s central point in northern Syria.

According to the sources, Erdoğan urged Trump not to support the Syrian Kurdistan Democratic Party (PYD) and its YPG militia.

The YPG leads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which have taken Islamic State territory in northeastern Syria since late 2015, advancing as far as the town of Manbij in Aleppo Province. Ankara believes the PYD is linked to the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK and has urged Washington to prevent any further advance by the SDF, which is currenetly declaring an offensive on Raqqa.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo is meeting Turkish officials in Ankara today.

The White House readout of the call merely says that Trump welcomed Turkey “as a strategic partner and NATO ally” and that the two men “shared commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms”, including the fight against the Islamic State.

Reports: Both Turkey-Rebel OFfensive and Pro-Assad Forces Advance on ISIS-Held al-Bab

Reports this morning say a Turkish-rebel assault has broken through Islamic State defenses near the town of Al-Bab, ISIS’s last major position in Aleppo Province.

Rebels are c;aiming the capture of the strategic Aqeel mountain, opening the way for an assault on the town.

REBELS AL-BAB 08-02-17

Pro-opposition sites claim that rebels are now in the al-Sakan Al-Shababi area, in the eastern outskirts of Al-Bab, which Islamic State supposedly used as a rocket-launch base.

The Turkish-rebel move on the town, launched in early December, had struggled to make lasting gains amid ISIS defenses that include suicide vehicle bombs and imporvised explosive devices. Meanwhile, a pro-Assad force closed within 6 km (3.5 miles) of the town, raising the possibility of a clash between the Turkish-rebel offensive — which began last August with Ankara sending in armored vehicles and special forces, supported by airstrikes — and the Assad regime.

See Syria Daily, Feb 6: Turkish-Rebel Offensive Struggles Near ISIS-Held Al-Bab

Reports: Jihadists Capture Dozens of Rebels in Hama and Idlib Provinces

Multiple reports say the jihadists of Jund al-Aqsa, linked to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, have attacked rebel factions and captured dozens of fighters in northern Hama Province and southern Idlib Provinces.

The reports say JAA initially targeted the faction Jaish al-Nasr, but also attacked other Free Syrian Army groups.

Jund al-Aqsa are now part of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham coalition, led by Jahbat Fatah al-Nusra (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), which was formed last month. The establishment of HTS occurred amid JFS moves against rebel positions west of Aleppo city and in villages in Idlib Province.

The outcome was the development of two blocs. In response to the JFS attacks, Ahrar al-Sham — one of the largest rebel factions — said it would protect other groups. Some joined Ahrar al-Sham, while others went into HTS, with Free Syrian Army units caught in the middle.

Swap of Regime POWs for Detainees in Hama

A rebel official said the regime and rebels carried out a swap of POWs and detainees on Tuesday evening in Hama Province.

The two sides reportedly exchanged 112 people, including 24 children, in the opposition-held town of Qalaat al-Madiq.

The women were released from regime prisons and then taken to opposition-held areas. In return, troops and civilian detainees were set free by various rebel groups and moved to regime-controlled areas in Latakia Province in western Syria.

Mohamad Rasheed, a spokesman for the Jaish al-Nasr rebel faction, said a civilian committee oversaw the swap. He said the prisoners included children on both sides and “some of the women had given birth while detained”.

Most of the hostages released by rebels were from Latakia and had been held since 2013. Some of the detainees set free by the regime had been imprisoned since the start of the uprising in 2011.