U.S. Accuses the Syrian Regime of Backing Islamic State Aleppo Advance

The U.S. has accused the Syrian regime of providing air support to help Islamic State fighters advance against opposition groups north of Aleppo, the Guardian reports.

Opposition fighters made the same claim on Sunday, when ISIS began advancing toward the town of Azaz near the Turkish border, threatening to cut off key rebel supply routes to Aleppo.

Fighters from the Levant Front, which includes Western-backed rebels and Islamist fighters, voiced concerns that the Islamic State was closing in on the Bab al-Salameh border crossing between the Syrian province of Aleppo and the Turkish province of Kilis, a key gateway for rebel weapons, civilian food and other supplies.

A post to a Twitter account used by the U.S. embassy in Syria said late on Monday, “Reports indicate that the regime is making airstrikes in support of ISIS’s advance on Aleppo, aiding extremists against the Syrian population.”

“We have long seen that the regime avoids ISIS lines, in complete contradiction to the regime’s claims to be fighting ISIS,” the embassy said in a separate tweet.

Syrian opposition leaders have previously accused the Syrian government of collaborating with the Islamic State, essentially leaving the militants untouched as they launch offensives against rebels groups, despite claiming to be to be fighting terrorism in the country.

Opposition groups have also repeatedly called for U.S. coalition strikes to deter ISIS from taking ground in the north of Syria and have questioned why the U.S.-led strikes against the group have not focused on bombing the jihadists around Aleppo city.

The Syrian government and its allies routinely describe political opposition and jihadist groups as “terrorists” and have denied accusations of collaboration with the Islamic State.

“The Syrian army is fighting the Islamic State in all areas where it is present in Syria,” a military source said on Tuesday.

But the most recent U.S. Twitter feed acknowledged for the first time that Damascus had a role in promoting the Islamic State.

“With these latest reports (the military) is not only avoiding ISIS lines, but actively seeking to bolster their position,” it said.

Syria’s Allies Confirm Commitment to Helping the Regime

Russia, a key ally of the Syrian regime, on Tuesday urged the U.S. to act in coordination with Damascus to crush the Islamic State, warning that the militant group would go “very far” if not stopped.

The statement from Russia comes on the heels of ISIS’ conquest of the Syrian city of Palmyra and the central Iraqi city of Ramadi late last month. It also comes as members of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State meet in Paris this week to collectively decide on a strategy to reverse recent losses to the militant group in both Syria and Iraq.

“It is absolutely clear to me it was a mistake – still is – not to coordinate the airstrikes with the activities of the Syrian army. That’s what we believe must be done,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that following gains in both Homs and Aleppo provinces, ISIS now controlled half of the country’s land area.

Meanwhile, Iran, another key ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, confirmed its commitment to backing Syria on Tuesday following major gains by both armed opposition and extremist groups in recent weeks.

“The Iranian nation and government will remain at the side of the Syrian nation and government until the end of the road,” Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying on Tuesday in a meeting with Syria’s parliament speaker in Tehran.

“Tehran has not forgotten its moral obligations to Syria and will continue to provide help and support on its own terms to the government and nation of Syria,” Rouhani added.

“As Sunni jihadist factions have become more prominent in the conflict, Assad’s government and Iran have portrayed the Syrian opposition as terrorists backed by regional Sunni countries,” Reuters writes.

“Unfortunately, some countries in the region have miscalculated and think they can use terrorist groups to pursue their goals, but sooner or later terrorism will be upon them,” Rouhani said.

Recommended Reads

• Newsweek: Should the U.S. Set Up a ‘No-Fly’ Zone Over Northern Syria?
• Reuters: Syrian Insurgent Advances Put Assad Under Pressure
• Agence France-Presse: Russia Urges U.S. to Act in Lockstep with Syria to Crush ISIS
• Associated Press: Fact-Finding Team Heads to Syria to Probe Toxic Chemical Use