Amid fragile truce with Damascus, Syria opposition battles IS
Islamist factions and opposition forces are taking advantage of "downtime" during the regime/opposition cease-fire to take on other enemies in Syria, but all the fighting could undermine the fragile truce.
ISTANBUL — Battles have erupted again around the Syrian city of Aleppo, despite the cease-fire agreement implemented at the end of February. Under the agreement, opposition forces and the regime are not to engage each other unless a breach occurs, in which case the other party is allowed to respond.
Yet clashes between opposition forces — represented by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and some Islamic factions — and the Islamic State (IS) erupted in northern Aleppo province in early April. By April 7, opposition forces were able to gain control over the strategic town of al-Rai, which was the IS center of operations against areas controlled by the moderate opposition in northern Syria. IS, however, regained Rai control three days later. Attack-and-retreat engagements have resumed.
“Our battles with IS are not new; we have been fighting the group for two years now," Col. Mohammed Khalil, commander of military operations for al-Mutassim Brigade, told Al-Monitor by phone April 14. "However, when the terrorist threat was revealed to the world and the major powers acknowledged it, they started to cooperate with us to fight this pernicious terrorism, and this is why these battles are important."
"The international coalition provided information on aerial reconnaissance to opposition forces on the ground; it bombed locations in which rigged cars were being prepared and targeted the group’s headquarters. Many opposition factions such as al-Mutassim Brigade, al-Hamza Brigade, Brigade 51 and Sultan Murad Brigade also participated, in addition to smaller factions in the area, which are all part of the Syrian revolution.”
