The Islamic Front seized the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border from Free Syrian Army forces after having taken over their nearby warehouse and arms depots last week. The US suspended all shipments of nonlethal aid to the Free Syrian Army in the north as a result of Islamist gains. Suspected Islamist gunmen abducted a leading Syrian human rights lawyer, her husband, and two associates from her office in the Damascus suburb of Douma. A number of activists have disappeared in recent months in areas controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. The families of two Spanish journalists kidnapped by ISIS appealed for their release. ISIS released a video featuring Anwar al Awlaki speaking about the establishment of an Islamic state. The Islamic Front’s Ahrar al Sham released a video on its website about a joint operation in Damascus conducted by Ahrar al Sham, the Al Nusrah Front, and ISIS.
