BICOM

Reports indicate that the forces of Syria’s President Assad are coordinating with ISIS against opposition groups, as Assad’s grip on power loosens.

ISIS recently captured the historic city of Palmyra and is making advances in the north of the country. Meanwhile, Islamist opposition groups including the al-Nusra Front are engaged in a fierce battle against Assad’s forces and his Hezbollah allies near the Lebanese border. Analyst Ehud Yaari told Channel Two last night that Assad’s regime is suffering.

In what may be part of a desperate attempt to retain power, it is reported that Syrian government air strikes were launched against opposition forces near Aleppo over the weekend, to enable ISIS to defeat specific Assad opponents. ISIS launched an offensive to capture the strategically important town of Azaz, near the Turkish border, which is key to opposition supply lines into Aleppo. The United States embassy in Syria said via social media earlier this week, “Reports indicate that the regime is making air strikes in support of [ISIS’s] advance on Aleppo, aiding extremists against Syrian population.” In a further indication of Assad-ISIS cooperation, it added, “We have long seen that the regime avoids ISIS lines, in complete contradiction to the regime’s claims to be fighting ISIS.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani yesterday pledged complete support for President Assad, despite his apparent vulnerability. He told the IRNA news agency that, “The Iranian nation and government will remain at the side of the Syrian nation and government until the end of the road.” Rouhani added, “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.”

Also yesterday, there were rumours of explosions near the Syria-Lebanon border, which initial reports speculated may have been an Israeli air strike. However, this was denied by both Israeli sources and Hezbollah. Israel is believed to have previously struck arms convoys in the area transferring weapons from Syria to Hezbollah.