The Syrian army backed by Hezbollah advanced closer to Yabroud, taking the hill of Aqaba, 2 km from the city, battling the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and the Islamic Front. The ISIS has withdrawn from Idlib and Latakia, and has retreated to eastern Reef Aleppo and Raqqah; the retreats were carried out under the protection of the Al Nusrah Front. An activist observer group said that about 4,000 people have been killed in clashes between the ISIS on the one side and the Islamic Front and “fighting battalions” on the other since early January. The ISIS released video featuring two Libyan suicide bombers who detonated in Deir Izzour.
