In Deir Izzour, the Islamic State continued preparations for an assault on the military airbase, and also executed five men on various charges, including “apostasy.” Regime airstrikes targeted the IS in Raqqah. The Al Nusrah Front flogged a man for “insulting the divine” in Idlib. Kurdish YPG fighters battled IS in Hasakah. Al Nusrah, the Islamic Front, the al Akrad Front, and rebels clashed with the IS near the al Shahba Dam in Aleppo. Al Nusrah claimed to have captured 45 Fijian UN peacekeepers in Quneitra near the Golan Heights; 32 Philippine peacekeepers were rescued and another 40 Philippine troops escaped “during a ceasefire agreed with the armed elements.”
