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Jihadi groups unleash broad attack against 2 Shiite towns in NW Syria

Xinhua, September 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Jaish al-Fateh rebel group unleashed on Wednesday a wide-scale offensive against two besieged Shiite towns in northwestern Syria, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

Jaish al-Fateh, or the Conquer Army, an alliance of several rebel groups including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, mounted a violent offensive from three directions against the towns of Kafraya and Foa, two besieged Shiite towns in the countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib, the report said, spelling no further details.

Kafraya and Foa, two of the very few remaining government strongholds in Idlib, were part of recent negotiations between an Iranian delegation, representing the Syrian government, and the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham.

The negotiations were held in Turkey and tackled the issue of releasing the pressure on the two towns by the rebels and in return the Syrian army would allow the trapped rebels in the town of Zabadani, west of the capital Damascus, to back down to Idlib. So far, the talks saw no success.

Also on Wednesday, a rebel commander appeared in an online video footage from one of the nearest points to the towns, saying that his militants were shelling the Shiite towns.

He promised to sweep the towns if the Syrian army "hurt" the people of Zabadani, where the Syrian army backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group are so close to squash the Sunni-led insurgency in that town near the Lebanese borders.

The rebel leader said the Ahrar al-Sham Movement told the Iranian delegation that the militants would allow the women and children from the two Shiite towns to evacuate, and in return they want the Syrian authorities to release 1,000 women detained in the government's jails.

He said the demand was rejected by the Iranian negotiators.

Activists said the rebel alliance is firing tens of improvised rockets into the towns, as ambulances were heard in the background of the rebels' video.

Both towns, home to 40,000 Syrians from the Shiite sect, have been reeling under months-long siege by the rebels, particularly after the jihadists captured much of Idlib in recent months. Endit