"Increasing number of Syrians joining Islamic State, says UN." Irish times

He said there was an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 foreign fighters with various groups battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops.

Karen Koning AbuZayd, a member of the commission, said most of the Syrians joining Islamic State were defecting from other armed opposition groups fighting in the country’s civil war, now in its fourth year.

“They see it’s better, these guys are strong, these guys are winning battles, they were taking territory, they have money, they can train us,” Mr AbuZayd told reporters."  Irish Times

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 Syrian IS and Iraq IS are quite different.  Iraq IS remains the same coalition of  ISIS/Tribal allies/ex-army that it has been since the beginning of the "Breaking the Borders" campaign.  Syrian IS is morphing into a much more Syria oriented force. 

It will be interesting to see if the IS "high command' will be able to bring these Syria focussed fighters into Iraq or Saudi Arabia to continue their declared war against the existing regional governments.  pl  

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/increasing-number-of-syrians-joining-islamic-state-says-un-inquiry-1.1879514

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"Islamic State of Iraq  and Greater Syria  fighters have seized a Syrian army base in the northern province of Raqa, killing scores of troops and beheading some of them, an activist group said Saturday.

The takeover of Division 17 base came as the UN Commission of Inquiry  on  Syria said Friday that ISIS  fighters accused of atrocities would be added to a list of war crimes indictees.

In a two-day assault on the base in Raqa province, an  ISIS bastion, the jihadists killed at least 85 soldiers, said the Syrian Observatory  for Human Rights.

More than 50 troops were summarily executed, 19 others were killed in a double suicide bombing and at least 16 more died in the assault launched early Thursday." Daily Star

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IMO the Raqa operation is yet another step in the process of IS "cleaning up" its rear area in Syria in preparing the ground for further offensive action southwards in the Arabian Peninsula or toward Jordan.  pl

Read more:  http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jul-26/265226-85-syria-troops-killed-in-jihadist-advance-activists.ashx#ixzz38fun3q7F (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News ::  http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

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"Syrian government troops Saturday recaptured the Shaar gas field in Homs  province from the Islamic State of Iraq  and Greater Syria, a week after the jihadists seized it, the Syrian Observatory  for Human Rights said.

"Since this morning, there has been fighting around the Al-Shaar field between regime forces and the IS. The army has succeeded in ejecting the jihadists, and it now controls the site and surrounding hills," Observatory chief Rami Abdel-Rahman told AFP.

The powerful jihadist group, which operates in Syria  and  Iraq and nows recently announced the formation of a "caliphate" named the Islamic State, killed around 300 members of the Syrian security forces in the battle for the key facility. Some of them were executed after being captured."  Daily Star

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It will be interesting to see if IS forces try to re-take the gas field or just go somewhere else.  A failure to try again would be a sign of relative weakness that would be telling.  pl

Read more:  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jul-26/265255-syria-regime-retakes-gas-field-from-isis.ashx#ixzz38fzPEasn (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News ::  http://www.dailystar.com.lb) 

 

Comments

[blowback]

The PNAC plan to break up the Middle East into small warring tribes seems to be working out really well with ISIS becoming the predominant force in the Levant and the United States seemingly fleeing from Tripoli.

Now that the "moderate" jihadis are streaming to join ISIS, will Obama continue with his plan to fund weapons purchases for those "moderate" jihadis? Of course, because yes he can.

So many chickens, so many chickens..........

[FB Ali]

Col Lang,

"It will be interesting to see if the IS "high command' will be able to bring these Syria focussed fighters into Iraq or Saudi Arabia....."

That is the benefit of the Caliphate. Anyone who joins its army fights wherever that army is fighting.

IS may well bring these Syrian (and foreign) fighters into Iraq in order to further reduce its dependence on the tribes and former Baath military. This will also keep the leadership of these groups in line.

[turcopolier]

fb Ali

I understand that the caliphate's claims to authority are universal but, I still want to see if they actually can do that. If they can, It may well be that Saudi Arabia, and Jordan are doomed. pl

[Poul]

Another government base falls.

As for the attack on the Al-Shaar gas field. It may have been more of a raid with the purpose of depriving the government of income.

quote:
But the regime recaptured Shaar gas field Saturday in Homs province from ISIS, which had captured the field nearly two weeks ago, reportedly killing 270 guards, pro-regime paramilitary and civilian employees. ISIS fighters had destroyed the equipment at the site before retreating.

Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jul-28/265350-isis-seizes-army-position-in-hassakeh-after-gains-in-raqqa.ashx#ixzz38kDiRSYj
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

[Ryan]

If this comes to pass regarding Jordan and Saudi Arabia we may come to a time when The State of Israel has as its immediate neighbor The Islamic State. I'm sure they will get along quite well.

[Babak Makkinejad]

That whole thing just establishes how ignorant of history of Islam all these people are - as though the Ottomans, the Qajars, the Safavids, the Seljuks, the Buyids, the Moghuls and many others never existed.

How any one inhis right mind can expect such people - or their kin - to operate the machinery of representative government and impartial justice is beyond me.