Syrian army makes further gains against ISIL militants- PRESS TV

The Syrian army has made further gains in its battle against ISIL Takfiri militants as it takes control of more areas in the Homs countryside.

On Wednesday, Syrian forces took control of three areas north of the al-Shaer gas field, close to a mountain by the same name in the Homs countryside, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian army killed an unspecified number of militants and destroyed a large amount of terrorists’ equipment during the attacks.

On November 6, Syrian army troops backed by pro-government fighters recaptured the strategic Shaer gas field in the central province of Homs.

The Shaer gas field, which feeds gas to the city of Homs and the capital Damascus, fell into the hands of Takfiri ISIL terrorists on October 30, when the terrorists launched an attack that killed dozens of pro-government forces and security guards.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/11/19/386704/syria-makes-further-gains-against-isil/

6 More Syrian Arab Army Soldiers Identified from ISIS Execution Video- Al-Masdar News

The identity of 6 more Syrian Arab Army soldiers executed in the recent Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham video have been confirmed to Al-Masdar News. The soldiers’ identities were released following confirmation from their families and military intelligence – many others still remain unknown or withheld.

1. Maher Ghali (Safita, Tartous – Division 17)

2. Mohammad Qassim (Al-Salamiyyah, Hama – Tabqa Airbase)

3. Aktham Al-Khateeb (Jableh, Latakia – Tabqa Airbase)

4. Ghaith Mahanna (Wadi Dhahab, Homs – Division 17)

5. Wissaam Misa’af ‘Attar (Hama City, Hama – Tabqa Airbase)

6. Lieutenant ‘Issa Iskender (Maysaf, Tartous – Tabqa Airbase)

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/6-syrian-arab-army-soldiers-identified-isis-execution-video/

Syrians do not feel they need a state- Open Democracy

Syrians were allowed to fear or abuse the state, never identify with it. No wonder if they have clung even to unfamiliar groups with terrifying ideologies that provided their basic needs.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/louay-hussein/syrians-do-not-feel-they-need-state

Free Syrian Army abandons Aleppo, leader flees to Turkey- Hurriyet Daily News

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the recognized armed opposition group against the Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has ceased its resistance in Aleppo, Syria’s second biggest city, withdrawing its 14,000 militia from the city, a ranking Turkish security source told the Hürriyet Daily News on Nov. 17.

“Its leader Jamal Marouf has fled to Turkey,” confirmed the source, who asked not to be named. “He is currently being hosted and protected by the Turkish state.” 

The source did not give an exact date of the escape but said it was within the last two weeks, that is, the first half of November. The source declined to give Marouf’s whereabouts in Turkey. 

As a result, the FSA has lost control over the Bab al-Hawa border gate (opposite from Turkey’s Cilvegözü in Reyhanlı), which is now being held by a weak coalition of smaller groups led by Ahrar al-Sham.

The source said some of the weaponry delivered to the FSA by the U.S.-led coalition in its fight against both Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria might have fallen into the hands of Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra, the Syria branch of al-Qaeda.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=74455&NewsCatID=409

Syrian army retakes al-Shaer gas field- Al-Monitor

HOMS, Syria — Following fierce battles, the Syrian army recaptured the al-Shaer gas field from the Islamic State (IS) Nov. 6, for the second time. IS fighters had taken control of the field, 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Homs, and the surrounding hills at the end of October. Al-Monitor visited al-Shaer on Nov. 7.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/syria-shaer-gas-field-army-control.html

Why Islamic State chose town of Dabiq for propaganda- BBC News

The small Syrian town of Dabiq, which featured in the latest beheading video from the Islamic State group (IS), has figured heavily in the group's propaganda since July when it named its new English-language magazine after the town.

The group has focused on the dusty backwater not because of any strategic importance or the size of its population - the Syrian census of 2004 recorded that little over 3,000 people were living there - but for the power of its symbolism.

Dabiq, which lies around 10km (six miles) from the Turkish border, features in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their enemies.

The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have said that "the last hour will not come" until Muslims vanquish the Romans at "Dabiq or Al-A'maq" - both in the Syria-Turkey border region - on their way to conquer Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).

IS has been seeking to bring on that battle by goading the international coalition to confront it there.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30083303

Daraa province slowly falls into Syrian rebel hands- Al-Monitor

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian rebels declared their control over the city of Nawa in the western countryside of Daraa — 85 kilometers (53 miles) south of Damascus and only 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border with Israel — on Nov. 9, after battles began Nov. 1 against the regime’s forces in the region. The fighting ended with the “liberation” of areas formerly controlled by the Syrian army, taken during the “Demolition of the Wall,” a rebel operation that brought down the army’s first line of defense of the capital against attack from the south.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/syria-rebels-daraa-south-damascus.html

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: redux of an outdated weapon- Al-Akhbar

As usual, there are no expectations of any change in the thinking or behavior of the March 14 forces. Today, the coalition stands before what is believed to be a new phase in the confrontation with Hezbollah. As always, the coalition members flex muscles that are not theirs. Today, their eyes are directed towards the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

They await the speeches of the living martyr [former Minister] Marwan Hamadeh and his companions, the employees of the late Rafik Hariri. We shall listen to high-pitched political rhetoric. This time, they are not required to talk about evidence or proof, they just need to help the prosecution justify its accusations.

They will repeat the same old narrative that Hariri spearheaded a project that opposed the interests of Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah, so they decided to get rid of him and that is why they assassinated him. This time, Hariri’s companions will be free of Lebanon’s pressures and intricacies. They will not try to appease Walid Jumblatt or any other politician. They know that the ongoing confrontation in the region provides them with the support of those they aim to please, namely, Saudi Arabia, France, and the United States.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/special-tribunal-lebanon-redux-outdated-weapon

ISIS threatens to kill Lebanese captives in 2 hours- Daily Star

BEIRUT: ISIS will execute the Lebanese servicemen it is holding captive along the northeastern border of Lebanon in just hours if the government doesn't revoke sentences handed down to Islamist Prisoners in Roumieh Prison, a brother of one of the captives said.

Ibrahim Mgheit, whose brother is being held captive along with 26 other Lebanese soldiers and policemen by the Nusra Front and ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal, told local TV that ISIS had called the families and given a two-hour ultimatum for the government to act.

The hostages’ families burned tires, escalating protests in their sit-in camp erected outside the Grand Serail in Beirut’s downtown district.

ISIS and Nusra Front are still holding 27 hostages that they took during clashes with the Army in the border town of Arsal in August. They have executed three and released seven so far.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Nov-17/277885-isis-threatens-to-kill-lebanese-captives-in-two-hours-tv.ashx

Geagea: Stronger bid to reach a new election law- Daily Star

BEIRUT: Efforts to hammer out a new electoral law to guide the next general poll appear to be serious this time, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said, stressing that Speaker Nabih Berri is more than determined to reach the long-aspired legislation.

“This time the discussion will not be just for the sake of discussion, as evidenced by the fact that a one-month deadline was fixed for achieving agreement, otherwise the draft will be submitted to voting by the Parliament Secretariat,” Geagea said in comments published Monday in Al-Joumhouria newspaper.

Geagea argued that a “clear road map with clear deadlines” existed in the fresh bid to reach a new electoral law compared to previous attempts.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Nov-17/277882-geagea-stronger-bid-to-reach-a-new-election-law.ashx

ISIS claims beheading 18 Syrians, an American in new video- Al-Akhbar

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants fighting in Iraq and Syria claimed in a video posted online on Sunday that they beheaded several Syrian hostages and an American.

The video came two days after a United Nations panel investigating war crimes in Syria said the extremist group has been receiving “external support” in the past four years.

In a highly choreographed sequence earlier in the video, jihadists marched at least 18 hostages, said to be pilots and officers from the Syrian Arab Army, past a wooden box of long black military knives, each taking one as they passed, then forced them to kneel in a line and simultaneously decapitated them.

In the video, which is the latest in a series of mass executions and other atrocities carried out by ISIS, the extremist group announced the beheading of Peter Kassig and issued warnings to the US President Barack Obama, Britain and others including Shia Muslims.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/isis-claims-beheading-18-syrians-american-new-video

Druze leaders debate Jumblatt's approach to Syria- Al-Monitor

Recent incidents in Mount Hermon have renewed controversy within the Druze community regarding Walid Jumblatt’s decision to remain neutral toward the Syrian conflict. Below, we examine three opinions in the ongoing heated debate.

Sheikh Ghassan Halabi, adviser to Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, believes that Lebanon today suffers from a crisis of power and governmental paralysis, in addition to long-standing sectarian tensions that escalated following the breakdown of security during the May 2008 events in Beirut. This exacerbated Sunni–Shiite tensions into a “game of nations.” Jumblatt, head of the Democratic Gathering bloc, has repeatedly warned about this, fearing the exacerbation of sectarian tensions across Lebanon, not only in the Mount Lebanon area.

In this context, Halabi told An-Nahar that Jumblatt’s perspective on the latest developments in the Mount Hermon villages is part of a comprehensive vision. According to Jumblatt, this vision may not be separated from the region’s geopolitical affiliations, the Iranian nuclear negotiations, and the crisis of the Syrian regime, which is fighting a battle of survival as the death toll of Syrians of every sect and religion continues to grow.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/11/druze-are-torn-between-two-evils-is-jomblatts-call-for-neutralit.htm

The Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra: A Looming Grand Jihadi Alliance?- Syria Comment

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

The international coalition- led by the U.S.- against the Islamic State [IS], with additional American airstrikes targeting the ‘Khorasan’ al-Qa’ida group in Syria (in reality just al-Qa’ida veterans from the Afghanistan-Pakistan embedded with Syria’s al-Qa’ida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra [JN])- has prompted media speculation of a wider truce, alliance or even merger between IS and JN. For example, on 28 September, Martin Chulov of The Guardian cited a “senior source” claiming “war planning meetings” held between JN and IS leaders.

More recently, a report in The Daily Beast cited “senior Syrian opposition sources” claiming merger talks between JN, IS and ‘Khorasan’, with further allegations, also claimed by the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights, that IS provided military assistance to JN in the recent JN moves against the Syrian Revolutionaries Front [SRF], Harakat Hazm and other perceived Western-backed rebel groups in Idlib province, noting that this development was supposedly the result of an agreement struck just west of Aleppo between IS and JN in a meeting overseen by ‘Khorasan’, attended also by the independent, anti-jihadi infighting group Jund al-Aqsa, and some members of Ahrar al-Sham. Finally, a report for the Associated Press has just come out, citing an ‘FSA’ commander in Aleppo province and an opposition official, claiming an agreement between IS and JN to end infighting and cooperate to destroy common enemies, including the Kurds and SRF. Present at the meeting, as in the Daily Beast report’s claims, were ‘Khorasan’, Jund al-Aqsa and some members of Ahrar al-Sham.

http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/islamic-state-jabhat-al-nusra-looming-grand-jihadi-alliance/

Moderate Syrian rebels say U.S. airstrikes helped extremists seize province- McClatchyDC

REYHANLI, TURKEY — Two rounds of U.S. airstrikes in northwest Syria since September have destroyed bases and weapons depots linked to the al Qaida-backed Nusra Front, but the more serious damage may have been to the fragile political balance, helping to tip an entire province dominated by pro-Western fighters into the control of al Qaida, rebel commanders say.

Moderate rebel field commanders, holding emergency meetings in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli as they try to regroup, speak of a popular backlash caused by the bombings that gave Nusra an advantage when it moved against them in Idlib province and forced them to disarm or flee. They voice anger at the United States for attacking Nusra, which has been on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations for nearly two years, without first considering how the action might affect their own battle against the government of President Bashar Assad.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/13/246801_moderate-syrian-rebels-say-us.html

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/13/246801_moderate-syrian-rebels-say-us.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

AP sources: IS, al-Qaida reach accord in Syria- Daily Star

ISTANBUL: Two Syrian opposition figures say the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch met last week and agreed to stop fighting each other and work together against their opponents.

The deal could be a heavy blow to Washington's strategy against the Islamic State group, relying on arming moderate rebel factions to push back extremists in Syria.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Nov-13/277546-islamic-state-al-qaida-affiliate-agree-to-fight-foes-together-in-syria.ashx

Syrian authorities arrest opposition leader- Al-Monitor

BEIRUT — Syrian security forces arrested opposition figure Louay Hussein Nov. 12 on the Lebanese-Syrian border while en route to Beirut, where he was due to fly to Spain to visit family living there since early 2012.

His political party, Building the Syrian State (BSS), reported that Hussein was arrested that afternoon on the Syrian-Lebanese border and referred to the judiciary in Damascus. The movement demanded his immediate release, blaming the Syrian regime for any harm that might befall him.

BSS deputy leader Anas Joudeh told Al-Monitor by phone from Damascus, “This arrest comes within the framework of the Syrian regime’s ongoing acts of suppression and clamping down on political freedoms and opposition politicians. We are surprised by this arbitrary arrest, which Syrians have become accustomed to.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/syria-regime-arrest-bss-leader.html

Jabhat al-Nusra eyes Idlib for Islamic emirate- Al-Monitor

ALEPPO, Syria — Jabhat al-Nusra is carrying on with its project to establish its own emirate in the north of Syria and pull the rug from under the Islamic State (IS). The latter's caliphate, announced June 30, has attracted jihadists from around the world and poached many al-Nusra members and foreign fighters.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/jabhat-al-nusra-idlib-islamic-emirate.html

Sources: Obama seeks new Syria strategy review to deal with ISIS, Assad- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama has asked his national security team for another review of the U.S. policy toward Syria after realizing that ISIS may not be defeated without a political transition in Syria and the removal of President Bashar al Assad, senior US officials and diplomats tell CNN.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/12/politics/obama-syria-strategy-review/index.html

Rockets kill seven Syrian schoolchildren- FRANCE 24

DAMASCUS (AFP) - 

Two rockets fired at a school in the central Syrian province of Hama killed seven children on Wednesday, state media reported, blaming "terrorists" for the attack.

"Terrorist organisations have fired two rockets at a primary school in the town of Karnaz, killing seven children, wounding others and causing major damage to the school," said SANA news agency, quoting a police source.

The Syrian regime regards as "terrorists" all of those who have taken up arms against it in the conflict sparked by a bloody crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in 2011.

"All of the martyrs were under 12 years of age," a source at a hospital where the casualties were taken was quoted as saying.

http://www.france24.com/en/20141112-rockets-kill-seven-syrian-schoolchildren/

Russia proposes formation of Syrian transitional government- Al-Akhbar

Alongside the plan by the United Nations (UN) envoy to Damascus to freeze the conflict in Aleppo in order to prevent the city from falling into the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Moscow and Cairo are preparing for a conference between the Syrian regime and the opposition in the hope of bringing them together in a transitional government that “fights terrorism.”

It is almost confirmed that Russia will invite the Syrian government and part of the Syrian opposition to a conference in Moscow entitled Moscow I instead of the Geneva III conference. According to news coming out of Moscow, the plan – prepared in coordination between the Russian Foreign Ministry, Egyptian authorities and the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura – calls for inviting two delegations for a dialogue in the Russian capital.

The first is the Syrian government delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Walid al-Muallem. The second delegation will include opposition figures such as former head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, head of the People’s Will Party, former Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil, a number of figures who left the Coalition, the National Coordination Committee and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party headed by Saleh Muslim whose units are fighting ISIS in northern and eastern Syria.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/russia-proposes-formation-syrian-transitional-government