ALSO IN THURSDAY FORECAST

Insurgents Laying Siege to 17th Division Military Base near Raqqa
Video: Devastation and Death After Regime Strike in Homs
Two Palestinians From Gaza Join Islamic State of Iraq & ash-Sham
Video: Is This When Leading Insurgent Commander Al-Saleh Was Fatally Injured?

THURSDAY FEATURE

Spotlight: Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Swears Allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Analysis: The “True” Story of Insurgent Leader Abu Umar al-Shishani — & What It Means
Spotlight: 75-year-old ISIS Fighter To Youth — Put Your Pants On & Wage Jihad

Reporters Without Borders has issued another report on the targeting of journalists trying to cover Syria’s conflict, with regular killings and abductions.

The latest report focused on attacks on media by the Syrian army amid its offensive near Aleppo, including the death of a citizen journalist on Tuesday and the destruction of two media offices by shelling last weekend.

Mohamed Ahmed Taysir Bellou — editor of Al-Shahba TV, reporter for the Shahba Press agency, and the Ahrar Souria Brigade’s media bureau chief — was killed by an army sniper who shot him in the neck as he covered fighting near intelligence department offices in the Lairmoon district of Aleppo.

The Halab News Network’s offices, north of Aleppo, were badly damaged on Sunday. Activists claim they intercepted army communications saying HNN was being targeted “because these information activist dogs are in the building”.

he Aleppo Media Center was destroyed, with four people injured, by missiles with high-energy explosives on Saturday.

Video of the damage:

The report also notes the abduction of at least five Syrian citizen journalists by armed groups in and near Aleppo in the last three weeks, as well as the kidnapping of independent journalist Omar Al-Shaar in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana by regime overnment intelligence officials.

At the same time, Reporters Without Borders has noted a marked increase in abductions of Syrian journalists by armed groups in and near the city of Aleppo since the start of November. At least five have been kidnapped in the past three weeks.

Other reports, include one issued by RWB two weeks ago, have documented the disappearance of journalists at the hands of insurgent factions, notably the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham, and armed groups as well as the regime. RWB said on Wednesday that more than 20 Syrian news providers are currently held hostage while a total of 16 foreign journalists are detained, held hostage, or missing.

Insurgents Laying Siege to 17th Division Military Base near Raqqa

We have been looking for news on the status of the insurgent assault on the base of the regime’s 17th Division in Raqqa Province in northern Syria.

An EA correspondent finally checks in, “The base is under sustained attack. About 50% is burning or overrun already, with military housing destroyed.”

Footage from Wednesday:

Claimed video of regime warplanes dropping cluster bombs on insurgents:

Video: Devastation and Death After Regime Strike in Homs

Aftermath of a regime attack on Haj Atef Square in the Inshaat section of Homs — an EA correspondent notes, “Many casualties including a lady who had a heart attack faced with people shredded to pieces and burnt by shells”:

Activists report 18 civilians killed and many others injured, some critically, by the attack..

Two Palestinians From Gaza Join Islamic State of Iraq & ash-Sham

Jihadist sources report that two Palestinians from Gaza, named as Abu Uweis and Abu al-Khair, have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham:

Video: Is This When Leading Insurgent Commander Al-Saleh Was Fatally Injured?

Footage has been posted claiming to be of the aftermath of last week’s regime airstrike on a meeting of leading insurgent commanders in Aleppo, killing and wounding several of them.

The clip appears to show an injured Abdul Qadir al-Saleh, the head of Liwa al-Tawhid, a key faction in the opposition. He died earlier this week from his wounds.

See Syria Forecast, Nov 18: Insurgent Leader Dies of Wounds from Regime Airstrike