LATEST: Video — Islamic State Organizes Islamic Instruction for Residents of #Manbij in #Aleppo Province

Insurgents suddenly launched an offensive on Idlib in northwest Syria on Monday, taking checkpoints around the city and briefly occupying positions inside it, including the Governor’s building.

Most of the fighters were from the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra, but other factions were also involved in the attacks that began before dawn. The scale of the offensive indicated that it had been planned for some time, rather than being an immediate response to the loss of the key town of Morek — on the main highway between Hama and northwest Syria — earlier this month.

The attackers came from the north, south, and west and overran the checkpoints as well as taking the Mastoumeh hill on the southern edge of the city. They then moved into Idlib, advancing on areas such as the stadium and the College of Education. They moved into the industrial section in eastern Idlib and seized the Governor’s offices.

By evening, the insurgents had pulled back to the checkpoints, where they can try and establish a siege on the city. There were mixed reports about the state of three highways leading into Idlib. Fighting also continued for Mastoumeh Hill, with Syrian helicopter gunships carrying out attacks.

The Assad regime’s media tried to cover the shock of the attack — the Idlib Province police chief undermined the initial line that insurgents had not entered Idlib, admitting that they moved into the city after a power cut — with claims that insurgents had suffered heavy losses.

It is unclear whether the insurgency was only carrying out a hit-and-run attack on Idlib or whether they are planning an assault to try and capture the city. The immediate prospect is that, having held much of Idlib Province since 2012, the opposition fighters will try and cut off Idlib, eroding Syrian forces and pushing back the Assad regime’s narrative that it is “winning” the 43-month conflict.


Video: Islamic State Organizes Islamic Instruction for Residents of #Manbij in #Aleppo Province

Kurdish Officials: 150 Iraqi Peshmerga to Reach Kobane on Tuesday

Kurdish officials have said that Iraqi peshmerga are expected to reach Kobane on Tuesday, helping Syrian counterparts in the defense of the Kurdish center against the Islamic State.

The 150 peshmerga are equipped with new American weapons, advanced machine-guns, Katyusha rockets, and heavy artillery. Officials said earlier this week that they will not be in frontline fighting, but will support Syrian Kurdish forces with artillery attacks.

The Kurdish force is flying to Turkey from the Iraqi Kurdish capital Erbil and then moving by land across the Syrian border to Kobane. Arms will follow in trucks overland from Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Kurdistan Parliament and President Massoud Barzani authorized the peshmerga deployment last week, following a week of talks between Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish groups.