The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the Al Nusrah Front, and other Islamist rebel groups clashed with regime, Hezbollah, and NDF forces in Aleppo. A regime ambush near Maloula killed “tens of Islamist fighters” said to be members of Al Nusrah. Residents of the blockaded rebel-held town of Moadamiyeh near Damascus raised Syrian flags as part of a deal with the Assad regime to allow food into the besieged area; rebels are to turn over their heavy weapons and inhabitants are also expected to expel unregistered persons. Several civilians died of malnutrition in the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. Kurdish YPG forces took over five villages near Qamishli in Hasakah after clashes with ISIS. The sharia council in al-Bukamal city executed an alleged criminal in a public square. Russia said that the Dec. 31 deadline for the removal of Syria’s chemical weapons will be missed as the toxins to make sarin, VX gas,and other agents are still being packed for shipment to the port city of Latakia.
