Insurgents Seize Control of Syrian City

An al-Nusra Front-led coalition of Islamists on Saturday captured the town of Jisr al-Shughour, the second largest city in northern Syrian province of Idlib. They had already captured Idlib City, the provincial capital, in late March.

Jisr al-Shughour sits on the strategic M4 Highway, directly leading to Latakia, the principal port city of Syria, 47 miles (76 km) to the south. The coastal Latakia is also the Alawite stronghold.

The fall of Jisr al-Shughour represents a significant advance by the insurgents toward the government-held coast. The battle for the town also signaled an alliance emerging among groups opposed both to the Assad regime and to ISIL. Al-Nusra, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda, other hardline Islamist groups and the Free Syrian Army have made advances in the north and south in recent weeks.

Photo credit: Nusra Front fighters ride a military vehicle seized from Syrian government forces (news.yahoo)

How Al-Qaeda Changed the Syrian War

‘Since its appearance last April, ISIS has changed the course of the Syrian war.’

Sarah Birke has written an important piece on how Al-Qaeda changed the Syrian war.

“While ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria) and Nusra share many aims, and both are well funded and trained, there are significant differences between the two groups. Jabhat al-Nusra stresses the fight against Assad, while ISIS tends to be more focused on establishing its own rule on conquered territory. Nusra has pursued a strategy of slowly building support for an Islamic state, while ISIS is far more ruthless, carrying out sectarian attacks and imposing sharia law immediately. And while Nusra, despite its large contingent of foreign fighters, is seen as a home-grown problem, Syrians at the border frequently described Da’ash  (ISIS) as foreign ‘occupiers’ in their country.”

“While Syrians continue to suffer, sandwiched between a brutal dictatorship and extremist groups, Arab and European jihadists are being indoctrinated and trained in the world’s most active battle zone–experience they may someday bring home.”

To read Sarah Birke’s piece in the 27 December issue of The New York Review of Books, please click here.

Note: The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) is also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Image credit: Mike King/nybooks.com