Extreme Rebels ‘Inexorably’ on the Rise. The Economist reports from Antakya on the continued rise of extremist jihadi groups.

“Rebel fighters less sympathetic to extreme Islamism are struggling. That is partly because of corruption, infighting and bad behavior in their own ranks. Moreover, since the Americans struck a deal with Mr. Assad to rid the country of chemical weapons in the aftermath of a sarin attack on August 2, thereby averting American missile strikes against his regime, the flow of arms to the more moderate rebels has slowed,” the magazine explains.

“At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s plan to build a rebel army at breakneck speed in the south looks overambitious. The money still being sent to rebel fighters by rich individuals in the Gulf, rather than by governments, goes to the more zealous Islamists, often channelled through Kuwait.”

Expanding Iran Diplomacy, from ’30 Seconds’ Over Syria. The BBC’s U.S. State Department correspondent Kim Ghattas analyzes the need for more substantial talks with Iran in resolving the “proxy war” in Syria.

“Ten days ago, I was traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry when he unexpectedly changed his itinerary and flew to Geneva to join the second round of negotiations. There was no deal in the end, but America and Iran had talked more in 30 hours than they had in the previous 30 years,” she says.

“When I interviewed Mr. Kerry a day later about the possible wider impact of the talks, he said: ‘We’re not having a geopolitical conversation right now.”

“I pressed further, asking how a nuclear deal could affect efforts to solve the conflict in Syria. He replied: ‘I don’t think anybody has any idea.’ Mr. Kerry also said the conflict in Syria was only a 30-second discussion with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Surely Syria deserves more than that.”

Rebels Die in Battle for Army Base. Rebels and government forces clashed at a base near Raqqa, with the army managing to hold onto it. Twenty-four rebel fighters died.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory, told the AP that “sporadic clashes are still underway on Friday for the complex, known as Base 17… In February, Raqqa was the first city to fall entirely under rebel control since Syria’s crisis erupted in March 2011.”

Golden Opportunity for Syria’s Kurds. The Daily Star examines what it calls Syrian Kurds’ “unprecedented opportunity” to establish political autonomy.

“Six months after the start of Syria’s revolution, most Kurdish political parties agreed to create a quasi-united body, the Kurdish National Council (KNC). The council also includes the powerful PDK, supported by Jalal Talabani’s PUK in Iraq. In total, the council consists of 14 parties, women’s groups and youth coordination committees, with representative offices in predominantly Kurdish-populated areas in Qamishli, Efrin and elsewhere,” it says.

“It promises to develop a strong, unified platform for Syria’s Kurds and is an advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which would guarantee stability for Syria and pave the way for autonomy for the Kurds.”

Collecting Pigeons While in Flight to Turkey. The New York Times’s Norimitsu Onishi has a dispatch from Hacipasa, Turkey, on Syrian refugees who are carrying on their tradition of collecting pigeons even as they flee to a new country.

“Walking down a dirt road with wide grins, the three men explained that the fourth, a relative who was a serious collector of pigeons, like many Syrian men, had refused to abandon his birds at the border,” he writes.

“Syria’s pigeon collectors, hamemati as they are known back home, are among the most ardent in the Arab world. They do not breed or race them. They will trade and sell them, but mostly they just keep them as treasured pets. So it comes as little surprise that some have gone to great lengths to pursue their hobby in exile, especially since no one expects Syria’s two-and-a-half-year civil war to end anytime soon.

“A coop atop a trailer in a refugee camp; a flock of pigeons circling above a building in a neighborhood with Syrian newcomers. These are the telltale signs of the hamemati in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, the nations with the most Syrian refugees.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team: 

Jerusalem Post: Six Islamist Factions Unite in Largest Syria Rebel Merger

Wall Street Journal: Rebel Attack on Syrian Base Kills At Least 150 Troops

AFP: After a Year, No News of US Reporter Missing in Syria