Following the unsuccessful presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (aka Daesh or Iraqi al-Qaeda) militant group in Iraq’s al-Anbar Province, and the revelation of its association to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, and after being chased out of this province by Iraqi armed tribes, it appears the members of this group in Syria are defecting and fleeing the country after suffering back-to-back military blows from secular Syrian rebels. Their so-called organization is also falling apart.
Al-Arabiya TV aired a report in this regard saying:
“During the past few days the hollow grandeur of the ISIS crumbled so simply unimaginable even for the group’s opponents. In al-Raqe Province east of Aleppo and Idlib provinces, the Free Syrian Army entered widespread clashes against this group, leading to the killing of over 300 people.
“One of the most important ISIS bases is located in the vicinity of Idlib, yet this site has also been completely evacuated. The Abu Osama al-Tunisi base, one of the most important command posts of this group in the town of Dana, was recently seized by the FSA.
“Aside from the city of Attareb witnessing intense clashes, the ISIS has also lost its influence in the city of Aleppo and its vicinity.
“Currently this group has no base outside the city of al-Raqe where most of them can gather. This city is also under the threat of FSA attacks.
“According to dozens of video clips posted by their activists, the ISIS has recalled all its forces from across Syria to al-Raqe. However, they executed all their prisoners before retreating from any of their positions. The number of such executed prisoners has reached 100.
“Furthermore, according to activists this group had nearly 2,000 prisoners in its bases, all held in 7 buildings in the provinces of Aleppo, al-Raqe and Idlib. Most of these prisoners were civil activists, Arab and foreign reports and rebels. “However, which groups are currently fighting against the ISIS?
“At the top of the list of groups that have waged war on Daesh, is the Mojahedin Army that is a subordinate of the military council that is affiliated to the Syria National Council. This army has been particularly formed to fight Al-Qaeda and root out Daesh militants. The number of these fighters reaches 5,000 and they are formed from different groups.
“The Syrian Revolutionary Front is of the first groups that waged war on Daesh. This group is formed of a number of divisions and the number of its fighters reaches tens of thousands.
“In addition to the mentioned groups, the Syrian Islamic Front is one of the main fighting groups with some 30,000 fighters.
“To this date, the number of Daesh elements still remaining in Syria is unclear, yet a small number of them have fled Syria and some have been killed.”