Four rebel battalions in Idlib– al-Ansar, al-Naser al-Qadem, al-Naser, and al-Muntaser Billah — split from the Ahfad al-Rasoul brigade and declared they would proceed independently with “armed jihadist struggle” against the Assad regime. A suicide bomber detonated in central Damascus. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham confiscated a coal-laden truck and an excavator machine destined for displaced civilians in Deir Izzour. An American ISIS fighter was killed fighting against regime troops in eastern Hama; Islamic groups and regime forces also clashed in the Mourk area. The Al Nusrah Front, ISIS, and Islamic battalions clashed with regime forces in Nabek and Ghouta in Reef Dimashq. The fate of some nuns from Maaloula is uncertain. ISIS, Al Nusrah, and Islamic battalions clashed with regime forces in Aleppo. ISIS reportedly released a video featuring rebel commander Saddam al-Jamal, who defected to ISIS from the Qatar-linked Liwa Ahfad Al Rasoul brigade of the Free Syrian Army and the FSA’s Supreme Military Council.
