Syria Update: December 3 - 9, 2014
Dec 9, 2014 - Jennifer CafarellaThe ISIS offensive against the Deir ez-Zour Military Airport has now achieved gains similar to its failed attempt to seize the base in early September 2014.
The ISIS offensive against the Deir ez-Zour Military Airport has now achieved gains similar to its failed attempt to seize the base in early September 2014.
The ISIS offensive against the Deir ez-Zour Military Airport has now achieved gains similar to its failed attempt to seize the base in early September 2014.
The formation of a new joint military command for the Syrian opposition has somewhat offset the setback suffered by moderate rebels due to JN’s continued consolidation of direct control in northwestern Syria.
JN and rebel forces attacked regime and Hezbollah forces in the heavily-fortified Shi’a towns of Nubl and Zahra northwest of Aleppo City.
JN and rebel forces attacked regime and Hezbollah forces in the heavily-fortified Shi’a towns of Nubl and Zahra northwest of Aleppo City.
JN and the FSA-affiliated Southern Front continue to make significant gains in Dera’a Province, seizing several military installations north of Sheikh Miskin and threatening to sever the regime supply line to Dera’a city.
The U.S. conducted a second round of strikes against "Khorasan Group" targets in Northwestern Idlib province, reportedly killing a number of JN and Ahrar al-Sham fighters that appeared to have been collocated with the "Khorasan" targets.
Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) seized large swaths of the Jabal al-Zawiya area of southern Idlib Province (in northwest Syria bordering Turkey) from Free Syrian Army (FSA)-affiliated groups beginning in late October 2014 (see fig. 1). JN, the official al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, began to carve out direct territorial control in Idlib Province beginning in July 2014, and its advance in southern Idlib has considerably extended its stronghold in the province.
An ISIS offensive against regime military bases and infrastructure in eastern Homs province appears targeted to relieve pressure on ISIS in Deir ez-Zour by disrupting the regime’s supply lines to Deir ez-Zour city through eastern Homs Province.