Syrian Rebels Seize Town From ISIS in Northern Aleppo

Free Syrian Army Faction Claims Victory in al-Rai

Syrian rebels from a Free Syrian Army (FSA) faction have claimed a military victory over ISIS in the northern Aleppo Province today, claiming the capture of the town of al-Rai. The group is claiming it will continue its advance until it seizes all ISIS territory.

This is the latest in a series of pushes by various factions against ISIS territory, with the Syrian government, the Kurdish YPG, and the rebel Islamist group Fallaq al-Sham all also involved in offensives taking territory away from ISIS around Syria.

This was a major goal of the Syria ceasefire, which began in February, and deliberately excluded ISIS in the hopes that everyone would shift their focus to the enemy they could fight without risking the ceasefire. It took awhile, but this seems to be the case.

This has focused on ISIS territory along its frontiers, and the group has so far been able to defend it’s primary bases of operations around Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.