Islamists Try to Firm Grip on Syria Regions

Source: Wall Street Journal

DAMASCUS—Rebels led by Islamist groups—some with links to al Qaeda—are trying to strengthen their control in northeastern and eastern Syria along the Iraqi border as the Assad regime decides whether to dispatch its overstretched troops to remote areas.

Nearly a week after Islamist groups announced the capture of most of the city of Raqqa and the northeastern province bearing the same name, fierce clashes to gain control of the few outposts the government holds there continued Sunday, said opposition activists. Regime forces are battling insurgents on multiple fronts, including near Damascus, the capital.

<snipped lots of good material on why Assad isn't sending troops to Raqqa>

The regime is focusing its overtaxed military and security forces on defending Damascus, not losing the northern city of Aleppo and preserving reclaimed territory in the central provinces of Hama and Homs. The challenges were underscored Sunday, with rebels in Homs launching a surprise attack on government forces in the neighborhood of Baba Amr, said the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group tracking the two-year conflict. It said this triggered clashes and aerial bombardment by the regime. Rebels were driven from Baba Amr one year ago after a bloody siege by regime forces. Syrian state media reported that rebels infiltrated Baba Amr from nearby farms but were chased out by government forces.

In Damascus, meanwhile, the sound of heavy artillery was heard throughout Sunday as government forces continued their monthslong campaign to keep rebels hemmed in on the outskirts. But rebels gained a foothold in the northeastern neighborhood of Jobar in early February and have been trying to make deeper forays into the capital


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