MESOP : TODAYS SYRIA REPORT / UP TO DATE Fighting in Syria Endangers Ceasefire as Islamic State Loses Ground

The partial ceasefire in Syria grew shakier over the weekend, with fighting between Syrian rebel groups (including Jabhat al-Nusra, which is not party to the ceasefire) and the Assad regime escalating in Aleppo province and the cities of Latakia and Hama. Nusra fighters have seized five villages in Aleppo province since Friday, but have also been met with strong resistance. A Syrian or Russian airstrike killed Abu Firas, a founding member and senior Nusra official, in Idlib province on Sunday, along with approximately 20 other militants.
The Islamic State is also under concerted pressure in Syria. Assad regime forces continued their offensive against Islamic State-occupied towns near Palmyra, retaking al-Qaryatain yesterday. Regime forces are working to remove thousands of landmines laid by the Islamic State in Palmyra and have uncovered a mass grave containing at least 40 bodies, some beheaded or showing signs of torture. In Iraq, a U.S. airstrike killed a rocket expert working for the Islamic State, Jasim Khadijah, who is believed to have been partly responsible for the rocket attack that killed a U.S. Marine last month. Five other Islamic State militants were killed in the strike and an improvised drone was destroyed. Facing growing strain, the Islamic State arrested 35 people in Raqqa on Saturday and the next day executed 15 members of its security services. The executions are reportedly a reaction to the death of senior Islamic State official Abu Hija al-Tunisi in an airstrike last Wednesday. www.mesop.de