ISIS loses Al Hawl

It turns out that Islamic State has suffered another defeat at the hands of the Kurds. Syrian Kurds, in alliance with the Arab Syrian rebels, as well as the local Christian and tribal Arab groups, launched attack against IS in the area of Syria-Iraq border, west of Sinjar and east of Al Hasakah. On 11 November 2015 they took village Al-Khatuniyah, and on 13 November, the same day when Sinjar was liberated from IS, they took the town of Al Hawl as well.

This is another defeat of the IS by the Kurds, who have so far proved its most formidable local opponents on the front lines.

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Assad’s forces score successes in Aleppo Province

Syrian government forces have achieved several successes in the Aleppo region.

On 10 November 2015 they pierced the Islamic State blockade of Kwaires air base, gaining a corridor to this besieged location.

Besides, during the last several days Assad forces have taken over a number of areas south of Aleppo city and west of Al-Safirah from the Syrian rebels. As a result, they have considerably widened their foothold in Aleppo Province.

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Assad forces retake the road to Aleppo from Islamic State

On 4 November 2015 Syrian government forces retook the road between the towns of Ithriya and Khaneser from IS. The jihadists had captured a portion of the road on 23 October 2015. The road is the only route through which Assad forces and their allies can communicate with the regime-controlled territory in Aleppo. Thus, long-term loss of the road could have catastrophic consequences for the Assad regime.

As to the general situation in Syria, Assad’s offensive against the rebels in the north has been largely unsuccessful, while Islamic State is trying to exploit the situation by taking territory from both rebels and Assad.

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Islamic State takes town of Maheen

On 31 October 2015 Islamic state took Mahin from the Assad forces. The town is situated next to Al Quaryatayn which IS had taken on 7 August 2015.

The move continues IS expansion towards the Assad regime communications between Homs and Damascus region.

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Canada withdraws from the air campaign against Islamic State

As became know on 21 October 2015, new Canadian government decided to withdraw from the air campaign against Islamic State.

Canada used to participate in air strikes against IS in both Iraq and Syria. Other powers that are doing so in both these countries are USA, Britain, France and Australia.

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Islamic State gains territory north of Aleppo

IS took a number of villages north of the city of Aleppo from the Syrian rebels on 9 October 2015. This brought the territory under IS control closer to the city, which is roughly equally divided between the Assad forces and rebels. The villages in question include Tall Qarah and Fafeen. Another village – Tall Susin – was also taken by IS, but retaken by the rebels later during the day.

The IS advance comes in the wake of Russian air strikes, which mostly hit Syrian rebels despite the Russian information campaign claiming that its target is Islamic State.

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Syria: Assad forces launch offensive in Hama area

On 7 October 2015 Syrian government forces launched attack against the rebels in Hama area. This offensive is supported by Russian air power and aims at consolidating territory under Assad regime control in western-central Syria.

Meanwhile, Russia has launched missile strikes into Syria from its naval ships in the Caspain Sea. While the Russian officials say that Islamic State has been hit, they also add that Al Nusra was attacked as well, which means that at least some of the missiles targeted western part of the country (where Al Nusra is based), the same day Assad forces launched their attack there.

Besides, Russian military planes have began shadowing American drones over Syria. With effective Russian air strikes against American-aligned and trained rebel groups, this adds up to a public humiliation of United States by Russia. If this trends continues, it can seriously damage American prestige in the Middle East and elsewhere.

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Syria: Russia attacks areas controlled by anti-Assad fighters

On 30 September 2015 Russia launched its first air strikes against Syrian targets.

Despite Russian official position that its involvement in Syria is directed against Islamic State, these first strikes were not directed against IS, nor were they even conducted in areas with any IS presence. Instead, Russia chose to attack those areas near the cities of Homs and Hama which are controlled by the non-jihadist Syrian rebels fighting against Assad regime, including the rebels receiving training and support from the US and their allies.

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Afghanistan: Taliban takes the city of Kunduz

On 28 September 2015 Taliban forces have taken Kunduz – a key city in northern Afghanistan. Kunduz also is the first provincial capital to be controlled by Taliban since their fall from power in late 2001.

This is another victory for Taliban since withdrawal of the main forces of the Western coalition in 2014. A number of other locations in Afghanistan were taken over by Taliban during 2015. Another faction in Afghanistan’s ongoing war is Islamic State, which has recently gained some territory in the east of the country.

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France launches air strikes against IS in Syria

On 27 September 2015 France launched its first strikes against Islamic State in Syria.

France already used to conduct air strikes against IS in Iraq, as well as support Iraqi Kurds in their fight against IS. Now the French have expanded their efforts by joining the air campaign in Syria.

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