Up to 70 Syrian army chiefs beheaded by ISIS after jihadis make advance on second city of Idlib that has been held by Assad's forces for more than a year
- ISIS and the Al-Nusra front launched simultaneous attacks in Idlib
- The men were believed to have been beheaded by militants
- Four Nusra Front members blew themselves up inside the city
By
Sam Webb for MailOnline
Published: 06:57 GMT, 28 October 2014 | Updated: 11:28 GMT, 28 October 2014
A reported 70 senior Syrian army officers were beheaded when members of ISIS and the Al-Nusra front launched simultaneous attacks on army checkpoints, police headquarters, and the governor's office in northwestern Syria
The attacks all took place in the city of Idlib, activists and state media reported. The city, which is in Syrian government hands, is the local capital of Idlib province.
The men were believed to have been beheaded before government troops could recapture the building and save them.
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Grim toll: A reported 70 senior Syrian army officers were beheaded when members of ISIS and the Al-Nusra front launched simultaneous attacks in the city of Idlib. File picture
Rebels on their way to battle in this file picture. Yesterday's attacks were the most serious there since Syrian rebels took control of scores of villages and towns around Idlib more than two years ago
Monday's attacks were the most serious there since Syrian rebels took control of scores of villages and towns around it more than two years ago.
The fighting is separate from the clashes underway between Nusra Front's main rebel rivals, ISIS, and Syrian Kurdish fighters for control of the strategic border town of Kobane, further to the east and along the border with Turkey.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Nusra Front and other groups shelled Idlib and simultaneously attacked army checkpoints there.
It said four Nusra Front members blew themselves up inside the city, targeting checkpoints there and causing casualties among the troops.
Amateur video alleges to show the Syrian city of Idlib under...
The fighting is separate from the clashes underway between Nusra Front's main rebel rivals, ISIS (pictured), and Syrian Kurdish fighters for control of the strategic border town of Kobane
'It was a moral blow to the regime,' said activist Asad Kanjo, based in the town of Saraqeb, also in Idlib province. He added that calm had been restored in the city.
Syria's pro-government Al-Ikhbariya TV cited the provincial police chief, who was not named, as saying the attackers took advantage of a power cut before dawn to hit the checkpoints and also the governor's office. He added that troops repelled the attackers.
'There isn't one gunman in the city now,' said the police chief. The TV later aired footage from Idlib showing bodies of two purported attackers with suicide vests.
Syrian state TV said government forces repelled the attack on Idlib and that a 'large number of terrorists' were killed
The Observatory said the rebels were helped by some policemen who were protecting the police command and the governor's office enter the two buildings. The buildings were retaken later by government troops.
Another activist in Idlib province, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said most of the attacks took place on the southern edge of the city, near Mastoumeh Hill.
The Observatory said the hill was captured by rebels, which prompted Syrian helicopter gunships to target the site. It said 15 rebels and 20 soldiers were killed at the hill.
Syrian state TV said government forces repelled the attack on Idlib and that a 'large number of terrorists' were killed. The government refers to the rebels as terrorists.
State TV said the attackers were led by Abu Waleed al-Libi who was killed in the battle - al-Libi is Arabic for 'the Libyan'.
The Observatory said that some of the Nusra Front members killed in the fighting were foreigners.
In the eastern province of Deir el-Zour a car bomb exploded near a hospital run by ISIS killing four people including a child and wounding others, the Observatory said. The explosion in the town of Mayadeen caused material damage to the hospital and nearby homes.
Syrian state TV said the blast in Mayadeen occurred outside a medical centre run by the Islamic State group. The channel said there are reports of 20 people killed by the blast.
The state channel and the Observatory gave no further details.
The Islamic State group controls wide areas of the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province, where some tribesmen rose against the extremist group but were quickly crushed.
In Kobane, an Associated Press journalist on the Turkish side of the border said there was intense fighting in the town Monday. Sporadic explosions and occasional cracks of gunfire could be heard from a distance.
70 Syrian army chiefs beheaded by ISIS in Idlib | Daily Mail Online
