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Islamic State achieves biggest advance along Turkish border in two years

May 29, 2016 4:28 pm By Robert Spencer

“The Islamic State’s recent defeats on the battlefield signal that its once-vaunted militia army has been hobbled by worsening money problems, desertions and a dwindling pool of fighters, analysts and monitoring groups say….’These issues suggest that as an entity that is determined to hold onto territory, the Islamic State is not sustainable,’ said Jacob Shapiro, an expert on the Islamic State who teaches politics at Princeton University.” — Washington Post, February 6, 2016

The WaPo was by no means the first to pronounce the Islamic State in imminent danger of death. The Atlantic announced in January 2015: “ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum: Evidence suggests that the Islamic State’s power has been declining for months.”

A CNN headline asked in November 2014: “Has ISIS peaked? Terror group suffers setbacks in Iraq.”

CNN followed a few weeks later with “For ISIS, tough times as it seeks to regroup.”

The New York Times announced on February 4, 2015, that “ISIS Is Losing in Iraq.”

On April 15, 2015, Vox issued its own report: “ISIS is losing.”

Killis

“Isil launches Syria assault, achieving biggest advance along Turkish border for two years,” by Louisa Loveluck, Telegraph, May 29, 2016:

Thousands of civilians fled an Isil offensive on Sunday as the terrorist movement achieved its most significant advance along the Turkish border for two years.

The three-pronged attack threatened to overrun the last swathe of territory in eastern Aleppo province held by non-jihadist rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said at least 6,000 people had sought safety in Kurdish-controlled territory to the west.

Others joined the burgeoning number of civilians camped along the Syrian side of Turkey’s now closed border. As many as 165,000 displaced people may now be scattered in fields and informal settlements along the frontier, as well as in the nearby town of Azaz.

Although Turkey says it has an open-door policy for Syrians fleeing war, the border remains closed to all but the most severely injured, and Turkish police have shot refugees trying to cross illegally.

In clearing rebel forces from Azaz and the nearby town of Marea, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) would strengthen its hold on a stretch of land along the Turkish border. Control of the area would allow the terrorists to threaten the Bab al-Salama border crossing, the strip of territory where thousands of civilians are now concentrated – and thousands more are expected to flee in the coming days.

Isil appears to be using its new territory to re-start its war against the Turkish state. After a two week lull, Isil launched fired more projectiles at Kilis, a Turkish border town where refugees and local residents now live in fear of the group’s rockets.

Marea has long been a bastion of relatively moderate rebel forces fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad. During almost six years of war, the town has survived regime tank and air assaults and the effects of Isil’s chemical weapons.

But the terrorists finally entered the town on Friday, surrounding its hospital for ten hours before being pushed back. “We are very scared inside this hospital. We know Isil is coming back,” said one member of the medical staff, asking for his name to be withheld. Hours later, Isil gunmen did return – and the fighting continued as night fell….

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Filed Under: Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Syria, Turkey Tagged With: Azaz


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Comments

  1. Jack Holan says

    May 29, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    US Command bragging yesterday how well the Coalition is doing. Let’s look at the totality of the War Theatre instead of losing sight of the big picture. Obama sending 250 more Advisors and going out of his way to publicly announce it is pathetic! How many GITMO terrorists did he put back into action?

    • Idania says

      May 29, 2016 at 7:03 pm

      Putin needs to go back to fight ISIS it seem that he is the only one to get results. It must be that he REALLY fight them. The only thing Obama does is sacrifice our children, to make believe that he is fighting ISIS. He will never go against his BROTHER.

  2. mortimer says

    May 29, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    If ISIS is feeling a pinch, they are not yet showing it. However, this may be their last all-out push before their implosion. One can hope, however, cautiously, that the jihadist commitment of ISIS is reaching severe psychological burn-out.

    Salafi burn-out is a phenomenon most Muslims are aware of in Muslims who ‘do Islam’ intensely. Large numbers of these jihadists will drop out of Islam entirely when they have seen ‘total Islam’ intimately.

    Because of Islam’s severe hypnosis, many Muslims take almost 2 decades to leave this evil cult.

    • Idania says

      May 29, 2016 at 7:08 pm

      No, they are fighting for a World Caliphate. They will not stop. Human life does not have any value for them and they are radicalizing young people who go to fight with them by the thousands. Obama support them.

    • DFD says

      May 30, 2016 at 12:47 am

      mortimer says: “…However, this may be their last all-out push before their implosion. …”

      Hmmmmhh…. I doubt that very much. Instead of collapsing they seem to gain and gain. Plenty of recruitment drives in the mosques, particularly the mosques in the west. More drives in or on the net, plus ‘radicalization’ when they form groups, as young people habitually do.

      I don’t think there will be a collapse, on the contrary. They attract more recruits than they lose, at least, it looks that way.

      Collapse? Yes, assumed the west sends a few divisions plus a few tank and artillery brigades. But dropping a couple of bombs here and there, killing a leader (and being jubilant about it) or two leaders every year – means nothing.

      Troops! Then and only then! Chance for that to happen with Obama, Merkel, Hollande & Cameron? Zero.

  3. citycat says

    May 29, 2016 at 5:35 pm

    A Muslim is a Muslim is a Muslim, Isil isis sunni shia or wotever, even the ones that don’t overtly practise Islam.
    Islam has dispersed more Muslims into Europe. The Islamic war machine is constant.
    Enmasse apostatisation? I don’t know.
    Islam is at war with every infidel constantly in various ways.
    Infidels are more divided than is Islam with its Isil or Isis or wotever.
    Infidels are divided by differing religions, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikh, Jews etc
    a lot of infidels are stuck in ignorance of Islam.
    Muslims know infidels more than infidels know Islam, generally speaking.

  4. Angemon says

    May 29, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    Although Turkey says it has an open-door policy for Syrians fleeing war

    Actually, it’s two open doors – one where the “Syrian” “refugees” enter Turkey and another where they try to cross into Europe so that Turkey can use them to pressure the EU to let Turkey in.

    Marea has long been a bastion of relatively moderate rebel forces

    “Relatively moderate”? What, they toss gays from the second floor instead of the tenth? They beat their wives lightly instead of until their skin turns green?

    • DFD says

      May 30, 2016 at 12:29 am

      Agree with what you say. You know, as a European I had to read this a couple of times:

      >>> “…and Turkish police have shot refugees trying to cross illegally…” <<<

      Whilst our frigates and destroyers provide a taxi service to Europe, when their landing crafts capsize. Or is it that they capsize them deliberately when they see a European naval-taxi service?

      Liked your last paragraph, pitch black humor. Obviously unintended, I presume, being cheesed off by all this.

  5. Trico says

    May 29, 2016 at 8:06 pm

    “ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum:”
    If we’re lucky ISIS will lose another great weapon: Hillary Clinton
    and if we’re really, really lucky we will be able to add Barack Obama’s name to the list.-
    I don’t know if this is true or if it’s just a rumor I made up:
    “George Clooney to host Fund Raiser for ISIS. Cash & Military Grade Weaponry requested.”

  6. paul says

    May 30, 2016 at 8:44 am

    under obola we are not allowed to shoot back…. All those missions for nothing. Seriously homeland security is like jihad central with all those o’ bomb bites hired by the head jihadist in the white house

    • paul says

      May 30, 2016 at 8:45 am

      Trump will need years to pull this poison rot out of America.

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