Deadly air raids against Isis as Russian Federation sends in jets

On Thursday, Syrian jets had carried out at least 12 air strikes on Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto capital in the north.

Islamist rebels have executed at least 56 Syrian government troops captured in fighting for an air base in the north-west of the country, a monitoring group has said.

Palmyra, home to vast Roman-era ruins, was seized by Islamic State insurgents from government forces in May.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fought hard to edge closer to the historic town.

Palmyra, which was listed as a Unesco world heritage site in 1980, was captured by extremists in May. However, Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, known as the Nusra Front, has not carried out such mass killings in the past.

The airport – the last government military base in the northwestern province – fell September 9 to an alliance called Jaish al-Fath, led by Syrian the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front and the hard-line Islamist Ahrar al-Sham movement.

“In the past two days, the regime has intensified its air raids against areas controlled by the Islamic State group“, Abdel Rahman said.

More than 250,000 people have died in Syria’s civil war, according to United Nations officials.

With air defences crippled due to low visibility, militants broke through the defensive perimeter and killed dozens of government soldiers while taking others captive.

Meanwhile, a coalition of rebel groups launched a major ground offensive on two predominantly Shiite villages in the northern province of Idlib, firing dozens of rockets and detonating at least seven booby-trapped vehicles on the outskirts.

Since its capture of most of Idlib province, the Army of Conquest has surrounded and heavily shelled Fuaa and Kafraya.

But the two-day ceasefire, the second that month, collapsed before the wounded could be evacuated from either area.