Rebels lay siege to jihadists in Raqa

Rebel fighters were laying siege yesterday to Al Qaida- linked jihadists in their northern stronghold of Raqa, managing to free 50 people they had detained, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Raqa emerged as a new front on Sunday in fighting among rebels battling to oust President Bashar Al Assad, with various groups joining forces against Al Qaida affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( Isil).

“The rebels have been laying siege to Isil’s headquarters in the city of Raqa since last night. They released 50 Syrian prisoners held by Isil in another building,” said the Observatory.

Raqa is the only provincial capital to have fallen out of regime hands since the conflict erupted when regime opponents took up arms following a bloody crackdown by Al Assad’s forces on democracy protests in March 2011.

But soon afterwards it fell into the grip of Isil, which is said to be holding hundreds of prisoners in their now besieged headquarters in the heart of Raqa.

Second revolution

Among Isil’s abductees are scores of rival rebels, activists and journalists, including Westerners.

Yesterday’s offensive in Raqa came three days after three powerful rebel alliances, including moderates and Islamists, launched what they called a second “revolution” against ISIS in the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib to its west.

On Sunday the rebel infighting spread to the central province of Hama, as well as Raqa, and the Observatory says scores of insurgents have been killed on both sides.