Nusra Front to Withdraw From Frontline in Proposed Buffer Zone

Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian arm of al-Qaida, announced that it is pulling away from the front-line battle with Islamic State in the parts of northern Syria where Turkey and the U.S. are planning to establish a buffer zone.

The buffer zone plan is designed to “protect Turkish national security” and U.S. interests in the region and not to help the plight of Syrian rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, the group said in a statement, as reported by the New York Times.

The buffer zone comes shortly after the U.S. has executed its first drone strike in Syria, carried out from Turkish soil, and as Turkey continues a bombing campaign against ISIS.

Although Syria-based activists have confirmed Jabhat al-Nusra’s withdrawal from many areas, a U.S. Defense Department official said that they have not “seen any movements on the ground that would indicate [Jabhat al-Nusra fighters] are following through with it.”

Jabhat al-Nusra’s pullback comes at a time when ISIS has been battling other rebel groups in northern Aleppo for control of key villages.

U.K. Ministers Put Off ISIS Bombing Vote

U.K. ministers have delayed a vote that will decide whether to bomb Islamic State in order to garner more support among the Labour-controlled opposition.

“Michael Fallon, the defense secretary, has in recent months pushed the case for launching strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and [Syria] – known as ISIS – in Syria as well as in Iraq,” reports the Financial Times. “At one point we were hoping to push ahead soon after the new Labour leader was elected, but that’s looking increasingly unlikely,” one British official said.

Although the U.K. is already part of a coalition of countries carrying out bombing campaigns in parts of Iraq, the government has yet to approve the extension of those airstrikes into Syria as well.

Assad Cousin Arrested After Protests Grow in Latakia

Suleiman al-Assad, the cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been arrested by Syrian authorities following protests in the port city of Latakia over his killing of a prominent colonel during a road-rage incident.

Suleiman fatally shot Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh on Saturday after he failed to allow Suleiman to pass his vehicle on the highway, according to the New York Times.

The Syrian state media, SANA, notes that Suleiman has been “transferred … to the relevant parties.” The protests in Latakia – a historical stronghold for President Assad – signal growing discontent with the Syrian government among Assad’s Alawite sect. According to Al Jazeera English, more than 1,000 demonstrators marched through the city’s streets.

Recommended Reads

• The Wall Street Journal: Druse Under Pressure to Take Sides in Syrian War
• Agence France-Presse: Long Taboo, Kurdish Culture Sees Renaissance in Syria
• The New York Times: In Syria, Kurds Roll Back ISIS, but Alliances Are Strained
• The Guardian: If Barack Obama Ever Had a Strategy for Syria, It’s Been Turned on Its Head
• Haaretz: Assad Pushing Desperately for Diplomacy, but Rebels More Interested in Carving Up Syria