Syrian rebel forces on Thursday took over a town near the Turkish border that had been the main stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) group in the northern Aleppo countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and rebel sources said.
The monitor said factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), some supplied with arms by Turkey and other foreign backers, captured the town of al-Rai after fierce battles with the militants.
“This is the beginning of the end of Daesh [IS], those who have bet the FSA have been decimated are now proven wrong. It is a victory for the Free Syrian Army,” said Abu Abdullah from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki brigade that participated in the assault on the heavily defended border town.
“We will continue our path to al-Raqqa and all the towns occupied by Daesh,” he said, referring to IS’ acronym in Arabic and its de facto capital.
The rebels said their next step was advancing towards the IS-held city of al-Bab, south of al-Rai and northeast of Aleppo.
The recent gains by the mainly non-jihadist rebels is a boost to Turkey, which has sought to prevent Syrian Kurdish-led forces from expanding their stretch of territory along the border.
It was the first retreat by IS militants since they made major advances in that area in May last year against rival insurgents and captured areas close to the Azaz border crossing with Turkey.
The Amaq news agency, which is linked to the militants, conceded that forces it described as “US and Turkish-backed opposition brigades” had taken the town after days of intense “US bombing and Turkish artillery” fire.
The news agency said al-Rai fell after heavy clashes and two suicide bombings that led to many casualties among IS opponents.
The Sunni militants have used suicide bombings to hold back offensives by the Syrian army and their allies by deploying small groups of fighters to disrupt supply lines. That is a change of tactics from ambushes and lightning attacks after the loss of significant territory, defense experts said.
A sustained rebel advance by mainstream rebel groups near the Turkish border this week that allowed the moderate non-jihadist rebels to capture a string of villages eroded IS’ last foothold in an area identified by the US as a priority in the fight against the group.
Rebels who previously struggled to make gains against IS in the area and had been fending off advances in recent weeks by Kurdish-led fighters mobilized several thousand fighters for the attack, rebel sources said.
An alliance of FSA rebel groups formed for the offensive includes the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad and Failaq al-Sham groups.
IS’ foothold at the Turkish border was also significantly loosened last year by US-allied Kurdish fighters of the YPG, which gained territory from the group farther east.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was