When Col. Riad al-Assad introduced his “15,000-strong” Free Syrian Army (FSA), it was unclear if the force was even real, though it seemed at the very least to have convinced the Turkish government to give Col. Assad a formal security detail.

But a new video has been released which appears to give the FSA’s claims more validity, showing the group not only existing, but showing footage of some of their fighters attacking a Syrian tank in Homs.

An FSA spokesman said the attack occurred in Bab Amro, one of the neighborhoods in which violence against protesters has become increasingly common. Defectors have attacked Syrian forces several times, but exactly how many are FSA-linked is unknown.

In the meantime, the Syrian National Council (SNC), another Turkey-based exile faction, is reportedly being courted by British officials. The SNC sought to be a mouthpiece for the entire opposition, but ran afoul of domestic protesters with calls for NATO attacks on the country and a Libya-style regime change.

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