LATEST: Opposition Coalition Dissolves Supreme Military Council

Activists report an escalation of regime airstrikes on Idlib Province in northwest Syria has killed more than 40 civilians since Sunday.

The Local Coordination Committees said at least 42 people died on Sunday from the attacks in the area, most of which is held by the Syrian insurgency. They named 19 who were killed in Saraqeb, along with dozens wounded and missing in the rubble. Another 23 victims have been identified in Ehsim.

Barrel bombings were also reported on Habbeet and Aabdeen while Kafrouma and Maaarat al Num’an were hit by rockets and artillery shells.

The Assad regime is trying to break the hold of the insurgents from Khan Sheikhoun in the south of the province to Maarat al-Numan further north. Opposition fighters have put pressure on two of the regime’s remaining bases in the provinces, Wadi ad-Deif and al-Hamidiyah.

(Featured Photo: A casualty is carried by rescuers after an attack on Binnish)

Opposition Coalition Dissolves Supreme Military Council

In a move foreshadowing a realignment of relations among insurgent factions, the opposition Syrian National Coalition has dissolved its Supreme Military Council.

The leader of the Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, said in a statement on Monday that the dissolution of the Council — which oversees the Free Syrian Army — will further measures to united all the military factions operating in Syria.

Those steps could consolidate on-the-ground arrangements in which the FSA has been fighting alongside the Islamic Front bloc and the Syrian Revolutionary Front, although the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra would still be publicly excluded because of US objections.

Bahra said that several members of the Supreme Military Council had been removed due to unspecified disagreements.

Jordan Says It Foiled Bombing/Assassination Plot Linked to Syrian Insurgency

Jordanian authorities say they have foiled a plot by an “Al Qa’eda-linked cell” to bomb shopping centres and assassinate Western diplomats.

Security forces detained 11 suspects, all Jordanians, claiming they were using smuggled weapons and explosives from Syria in a plan developed since June..

A “security source” said the cell had been fighting for “some period” alongside Islamist insurgents in Syria.

Kurdish Militia: We Have Halted Advance by Islamic State on Kobane

The Kurdish militia YPG says it has halted the Islamic State’s advance on one side of the key town of Kobane in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey.

“Fierce clashes are still under way but the Islamic State’s advance to the east of Kobani has been halted since last night,” Redur Xelil, a YPG spokesman, said.

The jihadists have moved on Kobane from several directions in the past week, taking a series of villages and prompting the flight of more than 100,000 residents.

130,000 Refugees Cross Into Turkey Since Friday: Turkish Deputy Prime Minister

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said that about 130,000 refugees have crossed the border with Syria since Friday, following the advance of the Islamic State near the largely-Kurdish town of Kobane.

The refugees have crossed a 30-km (19-mile) section of the border into southeastern Turkey. However, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said only two of nine border posts remained open on Monday.

Turkey’s emergencies directorate confirmed the clampdown.

“The border is open, but only at one place at Mürşitpınar, for better organisation of crossings,” an official said. “A single point has been opened for displaced Syrians, so that we can conduct identity checks and give first aid, vaccinating people if necessary.”