Islamic State Militants Attack Christian Villages in Northeastern Syria

Islamic State militants launched an offensive on a string of predominantly Christian villages in northeastern Syria on Saturday, sparking violent clashes with Kurdish militiamen and their local allies, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The attack targeting three villages along the Khabur River in Hasakeh province, a strategic gateway that would help the Islamic State consolidate the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria, comes just a week after the extremists kidnapped more than 220 Assyrian Christians from the same area.

“Islamic State’s main objective was to take Tal Tamr, which hosts a major bridge that traverses the Khabur River. If the bridge is taken, it would give the extremists a corridor to Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was captured by the militants in June,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The battles are now very intensive, very violent,” Osama Edwards, director of the Assyrian Network for Human Rights, told the AP.

Kurdish and Assyrian forces are ill equipped, with nearly 1,000 Kurdish militants and a few hundred Assyrians resisting the latest offensive. Edwards and other activists are scheduled to meet western officials in the coming week to advance their case for help from the international community.

The Assyrians are a largely Christian ethnic group who trace their roots back to ancient Mesopotamia.

U.S.-led Strikes Target Jabhat al-Nusra Headquarters Near Syrian- Turkish Border

U.S.-led coalition airstrikes targeted the headquarters of al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra near the Turkish border on Sunday, killing at least nine of its fighters, AP reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the strikes hit close to Atimah at the Syrian border with Turkey in Idlib province, home to a camp where thousands of displaced Syrians live.

“The leader of a mainstream rebel group said the latest air strike appeared to have been carried out by the U.S.-led alliance that has been attacking Islamic State in Syria, citing the precision of the strike and the strength of the explosion,” AP writes.

The United States and its allies did not confirm the attack, which comes days after Jabhat al-Nusra’s top military commander and several other leaders were reportedly killed in an air strike in Idlib. The Syrian army claimed responsibility for the attack.

Jabhat al-Nusra is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and has been targeted on several occasions as part of the international coalition’s wider campaign against extremists in Syria and Iraq.

Last week sources in the group claimed it was considering severing its ties to al-Qaida, a move that might lead to more support from Gulf states seeking the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The strike came as a separate U.S.-led coalition air strike hit an oil refinery run by the Islamic State near the border with Turkey, northeast of the town of Tel Abyad, on Sunday, killing 30 people, Reuters reports.

The territory controlled by the Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria includes oil-producing regions that have been a source of revenue for the group’s activities.

“In November, the United Nations estimated Islamic State’s revenue from oil ranged between $846,000 to $1.6 million a day,” Reuters reports.

E.U. Expands Sanctions on Syria

The European Union imposed more sanctions against individuals and entities believed to be aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including a businessmen who it claims bought oil for the Syrian government from the Islamic State, the Financial Times reports.

George Haswani, a Syrian-Greek businessman with “direct access” to President Bashar al-Assad, is accused of working as an intermediary to agree oil contracts between Syria and the Islamic State.

He is among 13 individuals and entities hit with new economic sanctions by the E.U., adding to a previous list of more than 200 individuals and 60 entities.


“The sanctions against Mr. Haswani are one of the first official acknowledgments from western governments that ISIS and Damascus are working closely together in key areas in a clandestine relationship that sustains the jihadis with significant income,” the Financial Times writes.

“This listing gives yet another indication that Assad’s ‘war’ on ISIL is a sham and that he supports them financially,” Britain’s foreign minister Philip Hammond said in a statement.

The Islamic State has seized large swaths of territory in eastern and northern Syria, including areas at the borders with Iraq and Turkey, and is thought to be generating revenue from oil to subsidize its activities.

The United Nations Security Council has threatened sanctions against anyone buying oil from Islamic State.

Recommended Reads

• Reuters: Gunmen Kill More Than 12 Islamic State Militants in Eastern Syria
• Time: The U.S. Needs to Rethink its Anti-ISIS Approach in Syria
• The New York Times: Race in Syria and Iraq to Record and Shield Art Falling to ISIS
• BBC: Missing Syria Girls’ Families Demand Police Apology
• The Financial Times: New E.U. Syria Sanctions Reveal Regime Collusion with ISIS
• NPR: In Syria, Archaeologists Risk Their Lives to Protect Ancient Heritage
• Reuters: Nigeria’s Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance to Islamic State
• The Washington Post: The Islamic State Appears to Fray From Within