After the US said it is considering military options against the Islamic State in Syria, the Assad regime requested coordination of any airstrikes but said it welcomes working with the US and the UK in combating the terror organization. The Islamic State is mopping up after its takeover of the Tabqa military airport in Raqqah, and has reportedly seized military aircraft as well as sidewinder missiles and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles (MANPADS). The severed heads of regime soldiers were displayed in Raqqah city. Regime airstrikes against the Islamic State took place in Raqqah and Aleppo. The IS clashed with Kurdish YPG forces in Hasakah, and with militiamen in Deir Izzour. Some 320 fighters from rebel and Islamic Front battalions joined the Islamic State in al Bab in Aleppo. The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front battled regime forces in Aleppo, Damascus, Reef Dimashq, and Hama. The Islamic Front also clashed with regime forces in Deraa, Idlib, and Quneitra. Hasan Abboud, a key figure in the Islamic Front, called Boko Haram leader Abubaker Shekau “a lunatic barbarian” after Shekau declared a caliphate in Nigeria; Abboud has also criticized ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in the past.
