The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with Islamist and non-Islamist rebels in Raqqah, Idlib, and Aleppo, and is said to be preparing numerous suicide attacks in Deir Izzour. In Hasakah, ISIS and rebel groups, including the Islamic Front, issued a joint declaration creating a unified sharia council and a joint operations room. In Hama, a truck bomb detonated near a school in the mainly Shiite town of Kalat, killing at least 18 people, and an Egyptian ISIS commander defected to Al Nusrah. Former ISIS prisoners alleged horrific crimes on the part of their captors, including summary executions and torture. State media claimed that Turkish truck drivers admitted to giving weapons to armed terrorist groups in a border buffer zone with the knowledge of Turkish officials. Demonstrators outside the UN headquarters in Damascus protested against the Al Nusrah Front's attacks last month on civilians in Adra. Delegates from Syrian opposition groups, including the Islamic Front, met in Cordoba, Spain, in advance of the Geneva II talks. An Arab news outlet said on Jan. 7 that "highly delicate" negotiations were underway between rebels and ISIS in Raqqah for control of the Sed Tishreen prison, where French journalists and an Italian priest were reportedly being held.
Bill Roggio is a regular guest on the John Batchelor Show from Monday through Friday to discuss the war. Check John's site for the time. Click here to listen live online at WABC.
