The Islamic State beheaded a man in Raqqah; blew up some houses in Deir Izzour; clashed with the Islamic Front and rebels in Damascus; battled regime special forces around the Sha’er gas field in Homs, where some 60 soldiers were killed; and fought against the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic Front, and Kurdish YPG forces in Aleppo, where the IS is massing reinforcements for attacks on Ayn al Arab. Al Nusrah and the Islamic Front battled regime forces in Hama, Damascus, Reef Dimashq, Homs, and Aleppo. The Islamic Front’s Ahrar al Sham clashed with the Free Syrian Army’s Harakat Hazm at the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border, leading to the closing of the crossing. A number of Islamic and rebel fighting groups banded together for a military operation in Deraa to “purify” the Al Meftera area of Alawites.
