The Islamic State has been using weapons captured in Iraq to expand its offensive in Kurdish areas in the north, aiming to take over the entire Kobani region. In Deir Izzour, the IS arrested a number of drug users; allowed residents of Khasham to return to their homes if they “repented” and turned in one Kalashnikov per household; and accepted the allegiance of Ahrar al Sham and Al Nusrah Front fighters from the town of Al Tayane. In Aleppo, the IS fought against the Jabhat al-Akrad brigade and the Islamic Front in the northern countryside, and arrested many civilians in Qabasi. Thirteen al Nusrah and the Islamic Front fighters were killed fighting regime forces in Quneitra yesterday. The Islamic Front blew up a building housing regime forces in the Idlib countryside. The UN appointed Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as its special envoy tasked with resolving the war in Syria, replacing Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three-year conflict has claimed the lives of over 170,000 people, one third of them civilians.
