US Claims Syrian Regime Launched Airstrikes To Aid ISIS Advance In Aleppo

The United States has accused the Syria of launching air strikes to help ISIS fighters advance around the city of Aleppo. Messages posted on Twitter by the U.S. Embassy Syria alleged the involvement of the Syrian government.

ISIS fighters had pushed back other insurgents north of Aleppo last Sunday near the Turkish border and threatened their supply route to the city. Members of the Fighters from Levant Front, a northern alliance that includes Western-backed rebels, said they were worried of ISIS moving closer to the Bab al-Salam crossing and the Turkish province of Kilis.

According to the Twitter account of the U.S. embassy in Syria, the Syrian regime has carried out airstrikes in support of ISIS advance on Aleppo and helped the group move closer to the Syrian population.

Islam Alloush, a spokesperson for the Islamic Front and one of the main opposition groups in northern Syria said, the Assad regime carried out airstrikes at the same time ISIS attacked the rebels. He believes ISIS owes its success in Aleppo to the Syrian government, reports The Guardian.

Reuters said Syrian officials have earlier dismissed the claims of Washington and the activists against the regime. The U.S. has suspended the operations of its embassy in Damascus in 2012 but its official Twitter account remains active. The account has previously posted a message about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s long lost legitimacy.

Mr Assad and other Syrian officials have frequently called for an international cooperation to fight extremists in Syria. The Syrian regime has called all insurgents fighting against the government as “terrorist organisations” backed by foreign countries.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, the Syrian military has bombarded the province including Aleppo and ISIS-controlled town of al-Bab in the northeast.

Meanwhile, in a meeting in Paris with the members of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, the U.S. deputy secretary of state responded to the appeal of the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The Iraqi leader had complained about the unfulfilled promise of military support. Mr Abadi also said it was difficult for Iraq to buy Russian and Chinese weapons because of Western sanctions.

Blinken, who represents the Obama administration in the meeting, said U.S. anti-tank rockets would be sent to Iraqi forces to help them counter ISIS vehicle bombs. He also gave his assurance that constraints against holding back Iraq’s access to weapons would be lifted.

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