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After sectarian clashes in Aleppo, US, SDF, and Syrian government officials meet in Damascus
Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa met with US Envoy Tom Barrack and the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, in Damascus on October 7. The meeting came in the wake of clashes between factions backed by the Syrian transitional government and Kurdish fighters in two neighborhoods in Aleppo. The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi, also met with Syria’s defense minister and agreed to a ceasefire between the SDF and government forces. Barrack, Cooper, and Abdi separately met in eastern Syria on October 6 to discuss integration between Syria’s east and Damascus, plus continued operations against…
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Israeli strike eliminates senior IRGC Qods Force officers in Damascus
Iran acknowledged the deaths of senior IRGC officers in a significant airstrike against its forces in the Syrian capital.
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Al Qaeda group claims bus bombing in Damascus
Hurras al Din, an al Qaeda group in Syria, has claimed responsibility for a bus explosion in Damascus. The Syrian state-controlled media says the explosion was caused by a “short circuit” near the bus’s fuel tank.
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Israeli airstrikes in Damascus reportedly kill Hezbollah fighter
Overnight airstrikes against pro-Iranian sites in Damascus resulted in the confirmed killing of a Lebanese Hezbollah fighter.
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Islamic State continues to battle Assad regime, allies
Since mid-April, the Islamic State and the Assad regime have been engaged in an intense battle in the southern neighborhoods of Damascus. ISIS claims to have killed or wounded hundreds of Assad’s soldiers, but its figures cannot be independently verified. Meanwhile, the so-called caliphate continues to fight the Syrian government and its allies in other areas as well, including in eastern Syria.
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Islamic State propagandists seek to undermine rival jihadists in Syria
The Islamic State’s propagandists continue to take aim at rival jihadists, including al Qaeda and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS). A recent Islamic State video calls upon HTS fighters to defect to the so-called caliphate’s cause.
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Islamic State battles rival jihadists for control of Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (“Assembly for the Liberation of the Levant”) and the Islamic State continue to battle for control of the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
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IRGC-controlled Iraqi militia deploys to eastern Damascus battle
The Tehran-controlled Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba has announced its participation in a battle raging east of Damascus, joining regime forces in the Jobar and Abbasin districts.
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Insurgents launch new offensive in outskirts of Damascus
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), Ahrar al Sham, and the Free Syrian Army-affiliated Faylaq al Rahman launched a surprise offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime in Damascus yesterday. HTS, an al Qaeda front group, has been stepping up its attacks in the Syrian capital in recent weeks.
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Leader of al Qaeda’s joint venture in Syria promises to ‘escalate’ operations
Abu Jaber (also known as Hashem al Sheikh), the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has released a message commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Syrian revolution. He portrays HTS as a popular revolutionary force and calls on other rebel groups to join it for the sake of “unity.” He also promises to “escalate” operations against Bashar al Assad’s regime.
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Jihadist group claims responsibility for suicide attacks in Damascus
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), al Qaeda’s new front group in Syria, has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that targeted Shiites in Damascus yesterday. Al Qaeda generally avoids targeting Shiite civilians, but a number of children and women were reportedly killed. HTS attempts to justify the bombings by arguing that the jihadists targeted “Iranian militias” and Bashar al Assad’s forces.
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Islamic State gains ground from al Qaeda in Syria’s Yarmouk refugee camp
The Islamic State has been battling Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, inside the Yarmouk refugee camp since April 7. The so-called caliphate has gained ground from Al Nusrah since then.
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Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, Ajnad al Sham form anti-Russian alliance in Damascus countryside
Three jihadist groups have formed Jund al Malahim (“Soldiers of the Epics”), a joint operations room opposed to the Assad regime and Russian forces in the Ghouta region of Damascus.
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3 new jihadist training camps identified in Syria
Training camps run by the Al Nusrah Front, the Khorasan Group, and a Chechen-led group, Khalifat Jamaat, were identified in Syria. The Long War Journal has identified 42 jihadist training camps in Iraq and Syria.
