MESOP TODAYS SYRIA OVERVIEW : Syrian Army Makes Major Gains Against the Islamic State Amid Setbacks in Aleppo

16 June 2015 – Thirty-four Syrians were killed, including 12 children, and more than 190 were injured during an attack of over 300 shells that bombarded government held neighborhoods in Aleppo on Monday. The Syrian rebels have been battling the Assad regime for control of Aleppo since 2012. The event on Monday marks one of the largest attacks on civilians by the Syrian rebel forces according to the British-based Observatory for Human Rights, which stated, “this indiscriminate attack on civilians in the city of Aleppo took place at the very time when [the Observatory for Human Rights] was in Damascus raising with the government the issue of the protection of civilians and the urgent need to stop the use of barrel bombs.”

In the south, the Syrian Army made major territorial gains against the Islamic State in the Qalamoun Mountains on the eastern borders of Lebanon on Tuesday. The offensive, in collaboration with Hezbollah, secured the areas of Tallet Ras Al-Kosh and Qornat Ras Al-Shabah on the outskirts of government held Jarajeer, leaving many Islamic State militants wounded or dead.