All of the Philippine UN peacekeeping troops in the Golan area that were surrounded by the Al Nusrah Front were rescued after intervention by UN rapid response forces as well as distracting artillery fire by regime forces; Al Nusrah still holds 45 Fijian peacekeeping troops. Al Nusrah claimed that the troops were detained because the UN passed a resolution against the group, and also alleged that the UN colluded with the Assad regime and ignored the shedding of Muslim blood. The Islamic State is said to have sold 300 Yazidi women to its fighters in Syria. The IS also has established a new state called al-Furat straddling the border of Syria and Iraq, which includes al-Bokamal city and al-Qa’em city in Iraq as well as nearby towns in Deir Izzour.
