The Syrian army backed by Hezbollah advanced closer to Yabroud, taking the hill of Aqaba, 2 km from the city, battling the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and the Islamic Front. The ISIS has withdrawn from Idlib and Latakia, and has retreated to eastern Reef Aleppo and Raqqah; the […]
Saudis hardened by wars in Syria, Iraq join al Qaeda in Yemen
Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria teamed up with the the Liwa al Ummah to overrun Syrian Army positions in the city of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province.
Regime and Hezbollah fighters continued to try to wrest the strategic town of Yabroud from rebel forces, including the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Al Nusrah and the Islamic Front fought against regime forces in Hama; in Aleppo, where they are besieging the central prison; […]
Rebels in Homs fight for a shattered dream
The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front clashed with regime forces in Deir Izzour, in Idlib, and in Aleppo. The Islamic Front battled regime forces in various towns in Reef Dimashq, including around Yabroud. Syria plans to close its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait because those countries have refused to accredit the Syrian […]
Seeing a Threat at Home in a Fight Abroad
A prominent jihadist forum said it supports the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and urged the Al Nusrah Front to resolve differences with the group. Information Minister al Zoubi said 25 persons, not 150, were released in exchange for the nuns freed yesterday; other sources said 141 women and a “small” number of […]
Twice during congressional hearings last year, The Long War Journal warned that jihadists were looking to secure Mohammed Zammar’s release in Syria. Zammar recruited the Hamburg cell, including the suicide hijack pilots for 9/11.
Mohammed Zammar, who recruited al Qaeda’s Hamburg cell, has reportedly been freed inside Syria. His freedom was negotiated by Ahrar al Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group.
Siege of Syrian arms depot in Tal Al Jabiyeh exposes chemical weapons fears
Secret HQ in Amman helps and directs Syrian rebels in south
Syria war: new push against Assad being planned, reports suggest
Al Qaeda hijacks spirit of Syria revolt three years on
Israel Watches Warily as Hezbollah Gains Battle Skills in Syria
Among the roughly 150 regime detainees released in the swap for 13 kidnapped Syrian nuns are some rebel fighters; the Lebanese negotiator said the Al Nusrah Front had first demanded the release of 1,000 prisoners. Mohammed Haydar Zammar, the al Qaeda recruiter who helped assemble the “Hamburg cell” that carried out the 9/11 attacks, is […]
War of narratives in prisoner exchange of Syrian nuns
If al Taliawi is a member of Ansar Jerusalem and did indeed fight in Syria, he would be the third member of the group to have done so.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon have claimed credit for joint rocket attacks on Hezbollah “strongholds” in Hermel, Lebanon. The attacks are part of the spillover from the war in Syria.
Save the Children describes healthcare disaster in Syria
Negotiations over the release of a group of kidnapped nuns were complicated by factors including the alleged involvement of Free Syrian Army fighters in the kidnapping.
A group of 13 kidnapped nuns was released by the Al Nusrah Front in a swap for over 150 female detainees in regime prisons. Regime and Hezbollah forces continued to battle rebel forces including the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and the Islamic Front, in Yabroud, where the nuns […]
The Islamic Front and the Al Nusrah Front clashed with regime forces in Deir Izzour, in Aleppo, and in Hama. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham controls an oil well in Hama’s Jabal Sha’er area. An ISIS suicide car bomber detonated near an Al Nusrah checkpoint in Hasakah. The Islamic Front also battled […]
Saudis, world community react to new Saudi terror law
Al Qaeda-linked group issues rare apology for “technical fault” in Beirut suicide bombing
The regime’s use of barrel bombs has reportedly increased since last year. Residents of Raqqah say it is controlled by some 5,000 fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, consisting mainly of foreigners, including Iraqis, Tunisians, Gulf Arabs, and Chechens. An ISIS leader was killed fighting regime forces near the 17th Division […]
Omar al Shishani is photographed while addressing scores of Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters at a captured military base in Syria.
Militant Grip Transforms, Terrorizes Syrian City
Jihadists from either the Al Nusrah Front or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham carried out the execution. A mentally ill man is said to have been among those to be killed.
The Syrian National Coalition has retained Gen. Abdel-Ilah Bashir as head of the Free Syrian Army but given former head Salem Idriss the post of military adviser to SNC chief Ahmad Jarba. Negotiators lost contact with 13 Syrian nuns kidnapped by an Al Nusrah Front-linked group led by Abu Malek al-Kuwaiti. Regime, NDF, and Hezbollah […]