Syrian Bombs Hit ISIS-Held Territory
The New York Times reports that raids by Syrian warplanes killed at least 25 people – most of them civilians crowding into a bakery – in Raqqa on Saturday, as government forces continued air attacks on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“The Syrian government has increased airstrikes on the group in recent months after it took over government military outposts in Raqqa in a series of newly assertive attacks,” writes Anne Barnard. “Government critics, and increasingly some supporters, complain that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces allowed the foreign-led ISIS to gain strength and establish its proto-state over the past year, focusing the army’s attacks more on Syrian-led militant groups whose main aim is to oust the president.
“ISIS gunmen in Raqqa on Saturday appeared to change their positions and leave their offices on the second straight day of heavy airstrikes, though the government assault there still does not appear to equal the intensity of air campaigns against Syrian-led insurgents in the northern city of Aleppo or the suburbs of Damascus, the capital.”
Syrian Rebels Advance in Golan Heights
AFP reports that Syrian rebel groups led by Jabhat al-Nusra have made “fresh advances” near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Quneitra province.
“Fighting has raged in the province since August, when rebels and the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front took control of a border post,” the wire writes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-backed monitoring group, said: “Rebels have since taken control of hills overlooking the border post, as well as several villages nearby, (after battles that killed) a large number of troops on both sides. [On Saturday] the regime tried to take back the village of Msahra, but failed.”
Syria Rebels Lament Lack of Firepower
The Los Angeles Times reports on rebels’ increasing frustration with the lack of weaponry provided by the U.S. – a concern that has taken on new urgency as ISIS advances in Syria’s north and east.
“The firepower supplied by the West has proved inadequate, and so has the pace of supply,” the paper writes.
“Months ago, Harakat Hazm, along with several other Western-backed Syrian rebel groups, appeared on the verge of receiving a strong boost in firepower they hoped would tip the balance of the civil war. In the spring, Harakat Hazm, with an estimated 7,000 fighters, became one of the first Syrian opposition militias to receive a shipment of American-made BGM-71 TOW antitank missiles. But the U.S. weapons shipments proved to be very few. The advanced weaponry they’d hoped for never arrived.”
Turkey May Play ‘Quiet Role’ in Coalition Against ISIS
Reuters reports that Turkey “may find it hard to play a public role in the coalition the United States is building to strike at [ISIS] targets in Iraq and possibly Syria for fear the militant group might retaliate against dozens of Turks held hostage.”
President Obama has said he hopes to devise a “regional strategy” to counter ISIS, but U.S. officials say they expect Turkey to avoid a sizable public role.
“An ally in the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, Turkey is the only Muslim nation in a ‘core coalition’ of 10 countries committed to battle IS militants in Iraq that the United States announced on Friday at the NATO summit,” the wire writes. “It is unclear to what extent the coalition may target IS in Syria, where the Islamist militants enjoy safe haven.”