As Russian airstrikes on Wednesday and Thursday targeted rebel groups in central and northern Syria, many of them reportedly unaffiliated with the Islamic State, Islamist groups in the south are growing stronger, with IS fighters now operating openly near the border with Israel, an opposition spokesman said on Thursday.
Speaking to The Times of Israel from Jordan, where he serves from within the joint Western-Arab command center in Amman known as MOC, the spokesman of Free Syrian Army units active in the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra said that an estimated 500-700 Islamic State fighters are currently active in the towns of Jamlah and Ash-Shajarah, adjacent to the Israeli border in the southern Golan Heights.(READ MORE)
