Massive if confirmed - Ahrar al-Sham leader Hassan Abboud may have been killed along w. senior leaders Abu Yazan al-Shami & Abu Talha.
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) September 9, 2014
The above information has since been confirmed and is being reported by several sources. Nearly 28 top commanders of the Islamist group Ahrar ash-Sham has been killed today, including their leader Hassan Abboud. Ahrar, which is one of the largest groups and also one of the founding groups of the Islamic Front, has recently been at the forefront of fighting ISIS. This is why many people suspect ISIS of being behind their deaths, but it has also been suspected that Syrian intelligence was behind this attack.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that this attack happened while the leaders were in a meeting and that the explosion happened inside said meeting. If true, this definitely opens the door up for infiltration, but not a conclusive perpetrator. While Ahrar will probably continue fighting on the battlefield, this is definitely huge news in the Syrian Civil War. Ahrar, while once the most powerful group in the Islamic Front, has been slowly being overtaken by Jaysh al-Islam. The latter will almost certainly grow stronger now.
Another thing, if Ahrar does indeed collapse, it will beg the following questions: Where will these fighters go? JN? ISIS? Jaysh al-Islam? What will happen to the Islamic Front? If the Islamic Front remains, will this mean an increased focus on ISIS (assuming they did it)? If ISIS was indeed responsible, does this signal a start to an ISIS offensive in Idlib?
According to this report from McClatchy, those who were killed were "moderates" within Ahrar and were convening to join a new moderate rebel coalition. If true, the possibility of a "coup", if you will, inside Ahrar should not be discredited.
It should be noted that Ahrar ash-Sham was helped in its founding by known al-Qaeda members and al-Qaeda members are in its ranks.
The next coming days will definitely be interesting.
Drones over Raqqa:
Secondly, several YouTube videos posted today reportedly show a US predator drone flying over Raqqa, the so-called capital of the Islamic State. The Telegraph is reporting that the video above and other pictures and videos are indeed legitimate. They are reporting that drones have been flying over Raqqa since at least Friday, saying that "Several residents of Raqqa and jihadists from Isil have captured pictures of a white drone circling overhead, reporting that it flew low over the city for most of Friday and again on Saturday.Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, an anti-Isil activist in Raqqa who posted pictures of the drone, told The Telegraph he had first seen it on Friday. "It flew over the city for about three hours, from noon until 3pm," said Mr Raqqawi, who uses a pseudonym to protect his identity."
If it is indeed true, this might signal an increased US campaign to target ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. The drone was more than likely trying to gather intelligence on senior leaders of ISIS, quite possibly even Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, himself. Also, while the drone was more than likely unarmed, it could signal that the US might be willing to utilize drones to take out the aforementioned senior leaders inside Syria.
President Obama is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday night regarding the United States' strategy against ISIS.
-- Caleb.
If it is indeed true, this might signal an increased US campaign to target ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. The drone was more than likely trying to gather intelligence on senior leaders of ISIS, quite possibly even Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, himself. Also, while the drone was more than likely unarmed, it could signal that the US might be willing to utilize drones to take out the aforementioned senior leaders inside Syria.
President Obama is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday night regarding the United States' strategy against ISIS.
-- Caleb.