LATEST: Regime Warplanes Hit Islamic State of Iraq in Raqqa for 1st Time in Two Months
MONDAY FEATURES
- What is Life Like in Raqqa under Islamic State of Iraq?
- Week Past, Week Ahead: Syria — Promoting Assad’s Victory
Insurgents, seeking another victory in southern Syria, are maintaining their assault on the highpoint of Tel al-Jumou.
Since the beginning of 2014, opposition fighters have taken most of the territory between the cities of Quneitra and Daraa in the southwest and have held out regime attempts to reclaim key points like the town of Nawa.
Videos show insurgent attacks with tanks, missiles, rocket launchers, and artillery on Tel al-Jumou.
Insurgents firing a Chinese-made HJ8 missile:
Tank attack:
Insurgents trying to move on the highpoint:
Meanwhile, the regime’s latest aerial bombardment of Nawa:
Regime Warplanes Hit Islamic State of Iraq in Raqqa for 1st Time in Two Months
Syrian warplanes have hit an Islamic State in Iraq and as-Sham headquarters in Raqqa, the largest city outside regime control, for the first time in almost two months.
Media activist Abu Mohammad confirmed the attack on the local offices of the Finance Ministry and Islamic Court.
ISIS outlets blamed the “Nusairi regime”, saying an Azerbaijani fighter had been killed, and pro-Assad newspaper al-Watan confirmed the raid.
Activists have alleged the Assad regime and ISIS are in an effective collusion where they do not attack each other, as the Iraqi-led group wages battles in northern and eastern Syria against insurgents and Kurdish militias.
Insurgents Say Truce Talks Suspended in al-Waer Section of Homs
Insurgents say the regime has rejected an offer for a truce in the al-Waer neighborhood of Homs.
The the al-Waer Operations Negotiations Room, representing the opposition fighters, say Syrian authorities turned down an insurgent “working paper”. The terms included a surrender of insurgent weapons, the release of regime-held female prisoners, the opening of all roads into al-Waer, and the safe return of displaced families into Old Homs.
The Negotiations Room say there was no agreement on a regime counter-proposal.
The Governor of Homs Province, Talal al-Barazi, denied a report in the pro-regime newspaper al-Watan that negotiations had been halted.
Insurgents left 13 besieged areas of Homs in May, but al-Waer — home to tens of thousands of people, including many displaced Syrians — remained under siege. Activists accused the regime of burning nearby fields to increase pressure on the residents.
Assad Regime Announces Amnesty for Some Prisoners
President Assad announced a prisoner amnesty on Monday, six days after his nominal re-election.
The decree said foreigners who entered Syria “to join a terrorist group or perpetrate a terrorist act” would receive an amnesty if they surrender to authorities within a month. Kidnappers who free their hostages and army deserters are also covered.
The regime has periodically issued amnesties since the start of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.
Video: Sniper Shoots Regime Soldier at Checkpoint in Damascus Suburb of Qaboun
Video: Father Grieves Over His Dead Child After Airstrike in Aleppo Province
Warning — Graphic:
Claimed Video: 1st Strike by Regime Scud Missile in Daraa Province
As the regime tries to hold back insurgent advances in southern Syria this spring, video claiming to be the first recording of the impact of a Scud missile in Daraa Province:
The footage was uploaded at the end of April.
However, blogger Eliot Higgins, who keeps watch on weaponry in Syria, claims that the video is even older and is not of a missile:
@EANewsFeed @Michael_P_Lynch It's an old video, pre-2014. In the original it's HD and it's a parachuted bomb, not a Scud
— Brown Moses (@Brown_Moses) June 9, 2014
Video: Regime Continues Air Assault on Mleha Near Damascus
The Syrian military’s air attacks on Mleha, a key town east of Damascus, continued on Sunday:
Assad forces have tried for months to claim Mleha, considered the gateway to long-held insurgent-occupied areas of East Ghouta.
See Syria Daily, June 8: The Battle for Mleha Near Damascus
Devastation in the town:
Insurgents inside Mleha:
Videos: Latest Regime Airstrikes on Aleppo
Videos testify to the continuing regime airstrikes on Aleppo, which have killed more than 2,000 people since the start of the year in Syria’s largest city.
Recovering the dead in Tariq al-Bab:
A man speaks amid rubble in Masaken Hanano:
Devastation from shelling on the Ansari neighborhood:
