Syrian rebels on Jan. 3 launched an offensive against the Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS [6]), attacking the Qaedist strongholds at several locations in the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib. The offensive included forces from the both the nominally secular Free Syrian Army and the new Islamic Front [6] alliance. The Islamic Front apparently launched the offensive after one of its commanders, Hussein al-Suleiman of the Ahrar al-Sham [7] militia, was tortured to death by ISIS militants. He was reportedly detained after he went to meet with an ISIS delegation in an effort to settle a dispute that arose in the village of Maskaneh in rural Aleppo. A gruesome photograph of Suleiman's disfigured body has circulated widely on social media, spakring outrage against ISIS. (Daily Star [8], Lebanon, Jan. 4; Daily Star [9], Jan. 3)
This reversal in Syria paradoxically comes amid dramatic gains for the Qaedist insurgency [10] in Iraq. In recent days, ISIS forces have taken the towns of both Fallujah [11] and Ramadi in Anbar governorate. Iraqi troops and allied tribesmen have surrounded Fallujah, and are about to luanch a drive to re-take it. (AP [12], Jan. 3)
