US-Israel led Al-Nusra-Front rapes the Free Army militants

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Both Al-Nusra, that resides under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda, and the ‘Free Army’ have several times coincided and fought against each other on the loots, something which may not be new. However; local sources informed our network from inside the city of Idlib that a new milestone which can be considered as a turning point in the usual fighting since a month ago as the battalions and brigades of the rebels have withdrawn from the circumference of Wadi-Al-Daif and Al-Hamidiah strategic sites in Ma’arat-Al-Nowman town in Idlib countryside.

The source maintained as 10 of the ‘Free Army’ militants were kidnapped by Al-Nusra, those militants who follow their leader jamal-Ma’arouf in Idlib, were taken, tortured and sexually ‘raped’.The main reason of this incident was because of the withdrawal of the ‘Free Army’ militants from Ma’arat-Al-Nowman in a battle against the Syrian Army leaving Al-Nusra alone in the battle which caused them heavy casualties.Incidents of hostage- exchange have increased lately between the two sides along with mediators for the increasing tension especially where retaliation started to appear where every side now is only aiming to prove their domination and existence

Syrian troops, rebels fight "ferocious battles" in al-Raqqa: report

Source :   Xinhua

DAMASCUS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian troops are fighting " ferocious battles" with armed groups in the northeastern city of al-Raqqa after thousands of rebels poured into the city the previous day, pro-government al-Watan daily said Tuesday.

The armed men have stormed the city from different directions amid reports that intense fighting is currently ongoing there, al- Watan said, adding that the al-Raqqa was one of the safest places in Syria before the rebels' attack.

After the attack, the paper said, the armed men looted houses and government establishment in the city.

On Monday, activists said that the Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaida, stormed large swathes of al-Raqqa, adding that they also took control over several government-owned institutions.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights posted a video footage on its Facebook page showing a number of government troops taken captive by the armed groups in the city.

It also said Governor of al-Raqqa Hasan Jalili and local head of the ruling Baath party Sulaiman al-Sulaiman were taken captives by the rebels after intense clashes at the governor palace.

The Observatory said that several pro-government people in al- Raqqa had formed an militia to repulse the armed groups' offense on the city.

Other media reports said that the Syrian war jets have pounded several rebel positions in the city, adding that army reinforcements are on their way.

Violence has intensified in Syria recently in what observers described as the escalation before the anticipated pacification after the international community declared support to a political solution to Syria's long-standing conflict.

A recent UN tally placed the overall death toll of Syria's two- year-old conflict at more than 70,000 people.

Syria opposition says captures eastern city of Raqqa

Source : Maan News Agen

AMMAN (Reuters) -- Syrian opposition fighters captured the northeastern city of Raqqa on Monday and crowds toppled a statue of President Bashar Assad's father, opposition sources and a resident said.

If confirmed, the fall of the provincial capital on the Euphrates River 160 km east of Aleppo would make it the first major city taken by the opposition since a revolt against Assad broke out two years ago.

"The city of Raqqa has fallen," Mustafa Nawaf al-Ali of the Syrian National Council told Reuters.

He said mostly Islamist brigades, including the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front, Ahrar al-Sham and the Sunni Hawks entered Raqqa after overrunning an army position at its northern entrance.

Nawaf al-Ali said Assad's troops and militia loyal to him escaped west towards Aleppo and east towards the province of Deir al-Zor, but loyalist forces dug in at the provincial airport, 60 km from Raqqa, remained a threat.

A resident also said the city had fallen and said a Syrian military intelligence compound in the city center was surrounded by rebels. He added that crowds had pulled down a statue of President Assad's father in the main square nearby.

Video footage showed a crowd stepping on the large white stone statue in the central square.

The Syrian National Council, a large bloc within the umbrella Syrian National Coalition, said the capture of Raqqa would prove "a decisive victory in the struggle for the downfall of the criminal Assad regime and to salvage Syria from the ugliest epoch in its history."

In a statement, the council said that with the fall of Raqqa a link was established between vast areas that fell to the opposition in the oil-producing east of the country and rebel-held regions in the northern Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Syrian army regains control over areas in Aleppo, defends airbase

Source : Xinhua

DAMASCUS, Jan.12 (Xinhua) -- Syrian army on Saturday wrested back control over several areas in the northern province of Aleppo and repulsed rebels' attack on a military airport at the outskirts of Aleppo, a day after the radical militants took full control over the military airport of Taftanas in Idlib province.

The army controlled the Ummayad Mosque area, Khan al-Wazir, the surrounding of the old citadel and the city's courthouse, the pro- government Sham FM radio said, quoting a military source as saying that government troops at dawn Saturday repelled armed groups' attack against the Kshaish airport in the outskirts of Aleppo, leaving many of the assailants killed or injured and destroying their anti-aircraft artillery.

The radio report also said that clashes between the army and the rebels took place at several districts in the central province of Homs, adding that many rebels were killed in addition to one soldier.

In the capital Damascus, local reports said the army is still haunting down armed rebels in the Muadamieh suburb west of Damascus, adding that the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of al-Qaida, is still positioning in the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees and keeping the displaced people from returning home.

The reports said that eight people were killed in Yarmouk over the past hours by snipers' fire.

Meanwhile, local media said the helicopters, which the rebels claimed to have captured in the Taftanas airbase in the northern province of Idlib, are "inoperable" and "out of service" since long time ago.

After weeks of intense fighting, radical militants from al- Nusra Front took full control of the sprawling airbase on Friday morning, making it most significant gain they have gained since the eruption of the crisis a year and a half ago.

The Sham FM report said all the functioning war jets were evicted from the air field before the armed groups' attack, adding that three officers were killed during the fight.

It said the army on Friday rained down the airport with all kinds of shelling, inflicting hefty toll among the militia at the airport.

On the opposition side, the Local Coordination Committees (LCC) said the Syrian troops' shelling renewed on the southern suburbs of Damascus, mainly on Sbaineh, Hajar al-Aswad and Mathnieh.

The LCC reported violence and clashes elsewhere in the unrest- torn country, placing the initial death toll of Saturday's violence at 55.

According to the UN estimates, more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria since the unrest erupted in 2011. Also, the World Food Program (WFP) said that around 2.5 million people in Syria are in need of food assistance but only 1.5 million can receive supplies from the agency.

Battles renew at Taftanas airbase in Syria's Idlib

Source : Xinhua  English.news.cn

DAMASCUS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua)
Battles have renewed at the Taftanas military airport in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib between Syrian troops and members of al-Qaida-linked al- Nusra Front, media reports and activists said Thursday.

The pro-government Sama TV said guarding troops at the airport repulsed that attack of armed groups that had tried to storm the airport, adding that hefty losses were inflicted upon the assailants.

It said many gunmen were killed while others fled the area, quoting "trustworthy" source as affirming that the airport is empty of war jets and gears.

Another pro-government news website said the Taftanas airport is "100 percent secured," adding that the "army martyrs and wounded arrived to al- Bassel airport in the coastal city of Latakia on board a helicopter that took off from Taftanas."

Earlier in the day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based pro-opposition group, said that Syrian jets had bombed Taftanaz airbase after it was stormed by Islamist rebels on Wednesday.

It said violent clashes continued inside the airport between the rebels and the regular troops, alleging that there were 20 helicopters in the airport; some of them were damaged due to the clashes while others were grounded because of malfunctions.

It said the rebels had taken over an arms depot inside the airport and also captured 13 soldiers, including one officer. But the activists' account could not be checked independently.

Armed rebels have previously attacked the Hamadan agricultural airport, in the eastern al-Bukamal city, and the Marj al-Sultan military airport on the outskirts of the capital Damascus that was only used for landing and fixing aircraft.

New Videos Show US, Israel-backed Terrorists in Syria Killing Civilian, Soldiers

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

New videos ported on internet show armed groups in Syria committing war crimes as they were brutally killing civilian and other soldiers in several regions across the crisis-hit country.

One of the videos, uploaded recently, shows heavily armed men shooting down a civilian airliner in the city of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria.

Another footage showed terrorists in Syria from the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front have executed three Syrian army soldiers, also in Deir al-Zour. In the video released by the group and posted on YouTube, the three soldiers, seated in front of a black flag, give their identities to masked men branding Kalashnikovs.

The soldiers reveal themselves as Alawites. The graphic footage then shows the bodies of the men lying in a ditch.

Another footage posted on a social media website shows a militant attack on the Taftanaz military airport in the northwest of the country. The video shows militants firing truck-mounted weapons and a tank on fire