Car Bomb Kills at Least 18 in Central Syria

A car bomb allegedly exploded by ISIS killed at least 18 civilians in Hama province, injuring dozens more. It is the latest in a months-long string of car bombs set off by the extremist group, which is currently fighting other rebels in the eastern city of Raqqa.

“The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday that the explosion took place in the village of al-Kaffat. Syrian state TV and activists said the blast caused extensive damage to the surrounding area,” the AP reports.

“The attack comes as clashes between rebels and al-Qaida-linked fighters are reported to be causing severe supply shortages in several northern Syrian towns.

Rebels on Wednesday stormed the town of al-Dana, a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Idlib, as fighting continued in al-Bab and three other towns in Aleppo province.”

Syria Militants Said to Recruit Visiting Americans to Attack U.S.

The New York Times reports that al-Qaida-linked extremist groups in Syria “are trying to identify, recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home,” according to U.S. intelligence officials.

“The director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, said Thursday that tracking Americans who have returned from Syria had become one of the bureau’s highest counterterrorism priorities. ‘We are focused on trying to figure out what our people are up to, who should be spoken to, who should be followed, who should be charged,’ Mr. Comey said in a meeting with reporters, without referring to specific numbers. ‘I mean, it’s hard for me to characterize beyond that. It’s something we are intensely focused on.’

“Fearing that the handful of Americans who have returned to the United States pose a threat because they may have received extensive training and jihadist indoctrination, the F.B.I. is conducting costly round-the-clock surveillance on a small number of these individuals, according to the officials.

“‘We know al-Qaida is using Syria to identify individuals they can recruit, provide them additional indoctrination so they’re further radicalized, and leverage them into future soldiers, possibly in the U.S.,’ said a senior counterterrorism official.”

Press TV: Syrian Army Purges Holy Shrine of Militants

Press TV, the state-run propagandist news agency of Assad ally Iran, reports that the Syrian army has cleared the holy shrine of Sayyeda Sukeina, near Damascus, of what it calls “foreign-backed militants.”

“The army on Thursday drove the militants out of the shrine, which had been used by them as a stronghold for months. The militants had also desecrated parts of the shrine and set fire to the main building,” it says.

“Elsewhere, in the western city of Homs, government troops killed at least 37 militants. In recent weeks, the Syrian army has made major advances in its fight against the armed groups.

“Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:

NY Times: U.S. Considers Resuming Non Lethal Aid to Syrian Opposition

Reuters: Assad’s Forces Kill Dozens of Rebels in Homs City

BBC: Homs: Syria Rebels ‘Die Trying to Break Siege’

Economist: The Jihadists May Have Gone Too Far

Deutsche Welle: Militant Group Sees Power Grow in Iraq, Syria

BBC: Rebel Clashes ‘Leave Almost 500 Dead’

AFP: Rouhani Says Syria Talks Will Fail Without Iran

AFP: Jihadists Advances on Syria’s Raqqa