Syria welcomed Russia’s proposal that Syria turn over all of its chemical weapons to international control in order to avoid US military strikes. The Free Syrian Army said it does not trust the regime’s pledge. President Assad said the US should “expect everything” if it attacks Syria, because of the variety of forces in the region, including al Qaeda. Kurdish fighters continued to clash with the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Raqqah province, and with Al Nusrah, ISIL, and rebel groups in Hasakah province. Christians and Muslims fled the ancient village of Maaloula after it was taken over by the Al Nusrah Front; Christians said the militants killed three people and kidnapped six more, desecrated churches, and stole property. A global jihadist forum said that Denis Mamdou Cuspert (a.k.a. Abu Talha al-Almani, Deso Dogg), a leader of the German Islamist group Millatu Ibrahim, was injured, not killed, in Syria.
