The Islamic State advanced in Hasakah after clashes with Kurdish YPG forces. Coalition airstrikes targeted the Islamic State in Aleppo, Deir Izzour, and Homs; coalition airstrikes were carried out also in Deraa, Hama, Hasakah, and Idlib. The pace of the air campaign in Syria is said to be now similar to that in Iraq, with “near continuous” sorties; but only 8 of the 48 coalition airstrikes so far in Syria have targeted al Qaeda. The Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic Front, and rebels clashed with regime forces in Damascus and in north and west Aleppo; and with Islamic State forces in Dabeq in Aleppo. Al Nusrah Front spokesman Abu Firas al Suri claimed that the coalition airstrikes are part of the West’s war on Islam and said the jihadists in Syria are engaged in a long war that could last decades.
