On April 25, 2015 a loose alliance of Islamist groups, which calls itself the Army of Fatah, seized control of the Syrian city of Jisr al-Shoughour in what they call the “Battle of Victory,” increasing the amount of territory already seized by Islamist in the northwestern province of Idlib. The invasion and takeover of the city began on Thursday, April 23rd and after two days had officially been captured. The move is widely seen as a step towards the groups’ goal of taking control of the currently government-controlled Syrian coastline. Last month, the Idlib capital of Idlib city was captured by Sunni Islamists and has since been unable to reclaim by the Syrian government. This isn’t the first time Jisr al-Shughur has been involved in the war: in June 2011, large anti-Assad protests led to the controversial deaths of 120 troops that are still disputed by both the government and the protesters.
The coalition of Islamist groups that took over the Idlib province’s second-largest city, and the last major city in the province still under government control, includes: al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch called the Nusra Front (rival of ISIS), the hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, and the relatively moderate nationalist groups (such as Fursan al-Haq) that collectively call themselves the Free Syrian Army. The major Islamist group ISIS, or ISIL, was not a part of the seizing of Jisr al-Shoughour; this adds to the fact that the recent Islamist advances in both in northern and southern Syria are not only largely against President Bashar al-Assad’s government but against ISIS as well.
Released photos and videos of the takeover show that before the government in Jisr al-Shoughour withdrew, it killed at least two dozen prisoners being held by the military. Other videos and photos released by the Army of Fatah show that the Islamist alliance used antitank missiles – some of which were obtained by the Nusra Front from rebel groups that had originally received them from the United States last year – in the battles with the Idlib military fought to obtain the city; as of April 25th the death toll from the battles is at least 60 pro-government fighters, with most city residents having fled. Even with the recent hesitations of the United States to provide more weapons to the rebel groups (in part fueled by the Syrian government’s blaming of the United States for the Islamist advancements), there are suspicions that the anti-Assad Turkey and Saudi Arabia are willing and prepared to give even more support to the Islamist groups with or without the backing of the United States.
The most important aspect of the seizure of Jisr al-Shoughour, however, is not in the weapons that were used to take it but how it puts the various Islamist groups one step closer to taking over the government-controlled coastal provinces, such as Latakia and Tartous, which have been relatively untouched by the war: Jisr al-Shoughour is located five miles from Latakia and is located along one of the main routes between Latakia and city of Aleppo. The coastal territory is also the core of the Sunni Islam’s rival of the Alawite sect of Islam, of which the Assad family belongs, painting the territory as a major target in the anti-Assad groups’ goals. These areas, which hold the government’s crucial supply routes, are also home to large numbers of refugees who had fled from cities that have been taken over by Islamist groups.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32461693
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/world/middleeast/islamist-militants-capture-syrian-town.html?ref=world&_r=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/25/us-syria-crisis-town-idUSKBN0NG09220150425
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-islamist-rebel-alliance-seizes-northwest-syrian-city-20150425-story.html
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Apr-25/295718-nusra-allies-overrun-syria-govt-holdout-in-northwest.ashx
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article19510551.html
TRANS-NATIONAL CRIME AND TERRORISM 