Syria Direct: News Update 10-9-14

IS controls ‘more than a third’ of Kobani

The Islamic State reportedly “controls more than a third” of Kobani, said the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Thursday, despite the fact that some IS fighters were pushed out of the besieged Kurdish city by US-led airstrikes Wednesday.

“Airstrikes alone are not going do this,” said Admiral John Kirby in a Pentagon press release Wednesday. “They’re not going to save the town of Kobani.”

The US reportedly launched eight airstrikes on IS targets in Kobani on Wednesday, said Kurdish news agency Rudaw.

Also on Wednesday, 15 Kurdish fighters were reportedly killed in the fighting, according to SOHR.

Pro-regime media and Syrian official state news have not commented on the fighting since the battle for the city escalated in recent weeks.

“We don’t have a willing, capable, effective partner on the ground inside Syria right now,” Kirby said.

“I can’t change that.”

Ahrar a-Sham inches towards barrel-bomb factory

Ahrar a-Sham killed six Syrian army soldiers and captured several buildings in the regime-held town of Al-Adnaniya in Aleppo province Thursday morning as they advanced towards a major barrel-bomb production factory, reported the pro-opposition news site Ajil Syria wa Iraq.

Al-Adnaniya is less than 1km from the periphery of the Defense Factories’ barracks— which also serve as a launching pad for barrel-bomb raids on Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces—and sits on a hill overlooking the military compound.

Ahrar a-Sham announced a campaign to take the Defense Factories’ barracks in a video circulated widely on YouTube Tuesday.

The rebel group managed to capture five villages adjacent to the barracks Wednesday and destroy a regime helicopter inside, reported pro-opposition news agency Aksalser.

Rebels regain compound in northern Hama

FSA-affiliated rebels and Islamic battalions retook a military compound in rebel-controlled Mourek after regime forces briefly gained control of the base in the northern Hama city Wednesday, said Abu Bara, the head of the opposition Operations Room for Mourek, in an interview online.

The Syrian army has made a concerted effort to storm Mourek and the nearby opposition-controlled town of Kafr Zeita since the rebel campaign to take the Hama Military Airport died down in September. Mourek is located directly on the strategic Damascus-Aleppo M5 highway.

The regime attack was part of its attempt to “cut off the supply road between Kafr Zeita and Mourek in order to complete the siege on Mourek and isolate it from” rebel support, reported the pro-regime news agency Hama News Network Wednesday.

The rebels say they managed to kill nearly 25 regime fighters in the counterattack and injured dozens more, reported pro-opposition news agency All4Syria.

 Syrian soldiers march toward Mourek in north Hama. Photo courtesy of @syriaassadgirl1.

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