Syrian Rebels Launch Offensive on Idlib

Syrian rebels launched a three-pronged attack on Tuesday on the city of Idlib, capturing territory on the outskirts of the government-held city in the country’s northwest, AP reports.

A spokesman for Ahrar al-Sham, a rebel group, told Al Jazeera that his group was part of a coalition of seven armed factions involved in the offensive “Operation to Free Idlib.” The coalition – including al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra as well as Islamist rebel factions – warned residents of Idlib to remain indoors in the coming days.

“The rebels have captured five checkpoints so far and are getting close to the gates of Idlib,” Zurayk, an activist based in Idlib province, told Reuters.

Rebels are advancing from four directions, he said, adding that there had been two suicide car bombs in the afternoon that had targeted an army base near the city.

Opposition forces have controlled the countryside and towns across the province of Idlib since 2012, but regime forces have held on to Idlib city despite attempts by opposition forces to enter the city.

As the fighting continued into the early evening, activists and the opposition’s Civil Defense corps claim Syrian government helicopters attacked the nearby village of Binnish with chlorine gas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights backed up the claim, saying that helicopters dropped two barrel bombs on Binnish.

The alleged chemical attack comes a week after the opposition said the government carried out a gas attack on the nearby town of Sarmin, killing six people and wounding dozens.

Syria’s Assad Urges Cooperation with Iraq in Battle Against Islamic State

Following talks with Iraq’s foreign minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, in Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad urged a united front with Baghdad in confronting terrorism as both countries battle the Islamic State on their territory, Reuters reports.

President Assad said coordination between the two countries would boost successes against the militant groups, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Al-Jaafari told reporters that he hoped to boost Iraq–Syria ties to defeat common dangers that threaten both countries.

He also said that Syria “will emerge from the crisis stronger and strategic relations between the two countries will continue to evolve,” according to SANA.

“The shiite Muslim-led government in Baghdad, along with Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, has been an important ally for Assad,” Reuters writes.

But Iraqi armed forces are also partners in the U.S.-led coalition strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq.

The U.S. and its Western allies have rejected the idea that they are cooperating directly with President Assad in the fight against the militant group.

In an interview with the BBC last month, Assad said that third parties including Iraq were conveying messages to Syria about U.S.-led coalition strikes against the Islamic State in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said this month his country would have to negotiate with Assad for a political transition in Syria. However, the State Department quickly clarified that Kerry was not suggesting the U.S. would negotiate with Assad himself.

ISIS Trains Hundreds of Child Soliders in Syria

The Islamic State has recruited at least 400 children in Syria in the past three months, giving the so-called “Cubs of the Caliphate” intense military and religious training throughouts its areas of control, AFP reports.

“Sleek videos published by IS-affiliated accounts show boys – some appearing to be as young as eight years old – loading and firing guns and crawling through sandy brush as part of military training,” AFP writes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the children are recruited near schools, mosques and in public areas where Islamic State carries out killings and brutal punishments on local people. “IS officials try to woo children with money, weapons and teaching them how to drive cars,” said Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the Observatory.

Once the boys turn 15, they are given the option to become fully fledged fighters with salaries. The child soldiers are often used to man checkpoints or to gather intelligence from areas outside ISIS control. However, some are recruited for more violent purposes, Abdulrahman explained.

“The group may be resorting to children because it has been having difficulties recruiting adults since the start of the year, with only 120 joining its ranks,” Abdulrahman said.

“Their use of child soldiers is part of a broader indoctrination effort … They keep talking about how they’ll be the new generation,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Recommended Reads

• Reuters: Canada Says It Will Bomb Islamic State ‘Safe Havens’ in Syria
• The Guardian: Syria’s War-Scarred Citadel of Aleppo: A History of Cities in 50 Buildings
• Reuters: Russia Says Next Round of Syria Talks in Moscow on April 6–9
• Al-Monitor: Aleppo’s Christians See Regime as Last Hope
• Associated Press: Both Islamic State Group, Syria Government Slow Down Aid: U.N.
• Al Jazeera America: Hezbollah Prepares Major Offensive Against ISIL

Photo Courtesy of AP Images